Maximo shakes up National team with 23-man squad

In what the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has termed a shake-up of the Senior Men’s National Football Team, there has been released the names of a 23-man squad that would represent Guyana next week during the second half of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
The team comprises 12 players on the local scene and 11 players who are internationally based.
The team has 6 changes, as compared to the unit that represented Guyana against Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas during the first half of the qualification process in March.
International talent Javier George, Marcus Wilson of Santos FC and Osafa Simpson of the Guyana Police Force are among the new faces in this team. Javier George plays in midfield for Stade Beaucairois in the French fifth tier; Marcus Wilson is a midfielder with the Santos FC, and Osafa Simpson is a forward player of the Guyana Police Force.
These three have already made their mark at international level, as part of the recent Guyana U-20 squad which performed admirably during the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, wherein they qualified in Nicaragua in February 2020.
In a shocking twist, on-again off-again captain Sam Cox, who led the Golden Jaguars in their two encounters in March, has not received a call up. Besides Cox, Kadell Daniel, Callum Harriott, Nicholas McArthur, Ryan Hackett and Jeremy Garrett are the faces missing from this squad. Their spots have been filled by Stephen Duke-McKenna, Liam Gordon and Kevin Layne.
20-year-old Duke-McKenna, a firm favourite among the Guyanese faithful after several eye-catching displays in the golden yellow jersey, made his team debut for EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers (QPR) this year.
Defender Kevin Layne, 23, has recently signed for Jamaica’s Mount Pleasant Academy. He join Golden Jaguars goalkeeper Akel Clarke in the island’s top flight.
Bolton Wanderers; full back Liam Gordon, 22, has impressed on loan at fifth tier Dagenham and Redbridge.
Following a 3-0 defeat against Trinidad and Tobago and a 4-0 win over the Bahamas in March, which left Guyana’s qualification to round two of the qualifiers in the balance, Head Coach Maximo said the following about the team:
“My job is very clear – to qualify for the second round of FIFA World Cup qualifiers. I am confident in the players and the squad to deliver this.
“The domestic group has been working very hard in our intensive training, and we are constantly tracking the performances of our non-domestic players. The aim for the non-domestic group is to raise the quality of the team by selecting players who are in full-time professional environments, such as Queens Park Rangers, Watford, Bournemouth and Bolton in England,” the former Brazil U17 and U20 national coach said.
“We know that Guyana’s chances of qualification to round two rely on results elsewhere, but the Guyana Football Federation is confident that this new-look squad – with its strong mix of exciting domestic and overseas-based talent – will put serious pressure on the other teams as we head into the business end of the group,” said GFF President Wayne Forde.
“We are delighted to see so many young players, who have graduated through the GFF’s Academy Training Centres and national youth programmes, making the grade and showing they can compete at the highest level as we build for the future. We ask the whole nation to stand up and roar with the Golden Jaguars in June as they seek to make Guyana proud and keep our FIFA World Cup dream alive.”
Guyana is set to take on St Kitts and Nevis on Friday, June 4 from 4pm local time, and then Puerto Rico on Tuesday June 8 at the same time. Both games will be played in St Kitts and Nevis.
The hosts, St Kitts and Nevis, are the Group leaders with 6 points drawn from 2 wins in 2 games. A win against Guyana and a draw against Puerto Rico set Trinidad and Tobago at second with 4 points, while Guyana sits at third with a win and a loss. Puerto Rico is fourth with 1 point, following a loss and a draw, while the Bahamas are yet to register a point after two losses.