The moment has arrived. The Sugar Boyz will tonight play the biggest match in the history of St. Kitts and Nevis football at 9 pm when they face French Guiana in order to qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
If the Sugar Boyz win, it will be the first time St. Kitts and Nevis would qualify for the prestigious tournament, which will be played in the US.
The match tonight will be at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida starting at 9 pm.
The players are up and rearing to go, and some of them have a message for the fans.
Romaine Sawyers, during the pre-match press conference on Monday, recalled the last time St. Kitts and Nevis narrowly missed out on Gold Cup Qualification in 2019 against Suriname. He noted this will motivate them to do well tonight.
Meanwhile, Gerard Williams, one of the longstanding players with the national team talked about the importance of the moment and what qualifying for the Gold Cup would mean for him.
“This one is really, really special to me because I’ve been trying all the years to actually get in the Gold Cup and I feel if I really get to achieve this, it will be one of my biggest accomplishments in International Football,” Williams said.
It’s not just the fans at home that will be watching. When St. Kitts and Nevis played Curacao on Friday, there were St. Kitts Nevis fans in the stadium cheering on. Raheem Somersall spoke of the importance of the fans at home and abroad, supporting the team to the very end.
“That’s always a good thing, to know you have that support of the 12th man in the stands or at home…I know for myself it motivates me a lot because you look over and you see your (national) colors and it’s always a special feeling just knowing somebody else is there to cheer you on other than your coaches,” Somersall said.
St. Kitts and Nevis has a history with French Guiana, having first played them in the Caribbean Cup in 2014, defeating them 2-1. In 2016, the Sugar Boyz lost to them 1-0 also in the Caribbean Cup and drew 2-2 in 2019 in the Concacaf Nations League.
Our last encounter was a 3-1 loss in 2019 in the Concacaf Nations League that result in relegation to League C of the Nations League. Now, the Sugar Boyz have an opportunity to right the wrongs of that match with a victory that will clinch a historic qualification in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Watch the match tonight at 9 pm at a watch party at Vibes Beach Bar in Frigate Bay, on ESPN 2 channel 77 the Cable and or Fox Sports Extra.