BELMOPAN, Wed. Apr. 6, 2022– Belize had already lost all hope of qualifying for the FIFA Qatar 2022 Women’s World Cup after losing our first two Group D games to Concacaf #22-ranked El Salvador (6-0) on February 16, and to Concacaf #8-ranked Panama (8-0) on February 20 (both games being played in El Salvador), but our remaining two Group D games with Aruba and Barbados were seen as an opportunity to climb in the Concacaf rankings through impressive outings in these matches. Only the Group D winner would advance to the next round of the Qualifiers, and being the lowest-ranked team in Group D, Belize had an uphill battle to fight every step of the way. Belize’s National Women’s Team is currently ranked #32 of the 41 Concacaf member countries, while Aruba is ranked #26, and Barbados is ranked #23.
In this afternoon’s home game at the FFB Stadium in Belmopan, Aruba took an early 1-nil lead when Vanessa Susanna (24’) converted a penalty, but Belize got the equalizer soon after—also via penalty conversion, by Mikhaila Bowden (33’)—and it stayed that way through regulation and six minutes of extra time. Though a disappointment for Belize football fans, the result against the higher-ranked Aruba is no cause for shame. With one more game against Barbados, in El Salvador on April 12, our Belize women’s team is still on a quest to improve our ranking in Concacaf. With 1 point, Belize is at the bottom of Group D, because Aruba, also with 1 point, has a better goal difference (-8) compared to Belize’s (-14).
Belize’s starting eleven and substitutes in today’s game were: goalkeeper – Jasmin Armstrong; Shante Chacon; Mikhaila Bowden; Valiene Lambert; Ashley Rodriguez; Sabrina Eiley; Jesselle Conorque; Florine Vasquez (Roshanny Narvaez at 46’); Jayda Brown (captain); Shendra Casimiro (Kaite Jones at 81’); Alisha Terry (Khalydia Velasquez at 37’). Other substitutes not utilized on the Belize bench included Belinda Linarez, Beatrice Alfaro, Carlene Tillett, Stephanie Barrientos, and Tanya Teul.
The team’s head coach, Wayne Casimiro, spoke exclusively with us at AMANDALA about his team’s performance yesterday against Aruba.
“We feel pretty good about the performance, I think the girls proved that they can play. They played with their hearts, and they gave it their all, but the 1 – 1 draw [was] unfortunate for us. We wanted a win, but I think they gave it their all, but that’s what counts,” Casimiro said.
At previous international matches, spectators were not allowed to be in attendance due to COVID-19 regulations. In the aftermath of the lifting of most of those restrictions, fans can now be present to view those games, and Casimiro spoke about the fan presence at yesterday’s game.
“The fans are always a plus for our home game, and I think today it showed with support the girls continue to grow and understand we play for our fans, we play for our country and that’s what counts. Today, I think the fans turned out to be positive and turned out to support, and we continue to encourage Belizeans to continue supporting not only football but every sport in our country,” he noted.
Our next outing against Barbados on April 12 in El Salvador will be even tougher, because the higher ranked Barbados dropped Aruba, 3-1, on February 22. A victory for our girls would have to be considered an upset of sorts, pushing us ahead of both Aruba and Barbados in the standings, and that is exactly what they are determined to do. Le’s go, Belize!!
Remaining Group D games:
April 8 – El Salvador vs Barbados
April 9 – Aruba vs Panama
April 12 – Barbados vs Belize; Panama vs El Salvador
With El Salvador and Panama expected to easily win their games on April 8 and 9, their showdown for the Group D championship takes place at 4:00 p.m. on the afternoon of April 12 at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama, after the Barbados vs Belize clash earlier at 2:30 p.m. at the Estadio Cuscatlan in El Salvador.