St. Kitts and Nevis will be hosting the World Cup Qualifier match against Guyana at the Warner Park football stadium this Friday at 4pm. All the necessary preparations have and are still being made to accommodate the hosting of this match, which will see the strictest application of COVID-19 measures prior to, during and after the match. Both the St. Kitts Nevis Senior men’s national team and the Guyana National Team, are in a secure bubble at their hotels and during designated times for training leading up to match day.
Preparations for the sugar boys have gone well so far, according to Coach of the Senior Men’s National Team Leo Neiva. “(Training) is going very well. I am very satisfied with the commitment (of the players to training),” he said. “It’s a very good chance for us to (advance)…we are capable to win at home against Guyana with a very good performance,” he added.
Coach Neiva was very positive about his players, especially the local based ones who compete in the SKNFA Premier League. “We keep the balance between the overseas and local based players, just like the last final squad. It’s not easy because some of the players are not active, but we select players with more games and more match fitness,” Coach Neiva said. He added that a quota of under 23 players has also been maintained.
Coach Neiva is confident that St. Kitts and Nevis will get a positive result from Friday’s match, which would put the Sugar Boys in a strong position to progress to the next round of the World Cup qualifiers. “We need to keep the winning mentality, (we are aiming) to win the two games,” he said, referring to this match and the next encounter against Trinidad and Tobago, which would be played away in the Dominican Republic.
The squad for Friday’s match is:
GOALKEEPERS*
*Julani Archibald (Real de Minas)
*Zaykesse Smith* (Village Superstars)
*Clifford Samuel* (Conaree)
*CENTER BACKS*
*Raheem Francis* (Village Superstars)
*Thrizen Leader* (St Paul’s)
*Petrez Williams* (St. Paul’s)
*Lois Maynard* (Stockport)
*FULL BACKS*
*Ordell Flemming* – (Village Superstars)
*Gerard Williams* – (Cayon)
*Malique Roberts* (Cayon)
*Xavier French* (Saddlers)
*DEFENSE MIDFIELDERS*
*Yohannes Mitchum* (Newtown Utd)
*Theo Wharton* (Barry Town)
*Raheem Somersall* (Tormenta FC)
*Andre Burley* (Wycombe)
*OFFENSIVE* *MIDFIELDERS*
*O. Sterling James* (Kidderminster)
*Vinceroy Nelson* (St. Paul’s)
*Harry Panayiotou* (Aldershot Town)
*Tiquanny Williams* (Old Road)
*Romaine Sawyers* (West Bromwich)
*Kalonji Clarke* (St Paul’s)
*FORWARDS*
*Keithroy Freeman* (St. Paul’s)
*Rowan Liburd* (Welling United)
*Tahir Hanley* (Real de Minas)
Fans will not be allowed in the stadium, but the SKNFA will be broadcasting the match live on its Facebook page, beginning at 4pm.