Twenty-three players were named to represent Belize in a series of games in a bid to qualify for the CONCACAF Nation’s League.
By Charles Gladden
BELMOPAN, Wed. June 1, 2022
The Football Federation of Belize (FFB) has announced the names of the twenty-three players who will be representing Belize on the country’s men’s national team, which will be participating in several matches in the next two weeks in an attempt to qualify for the CONCACAF Nation’s League.
The qualifying match is an opportunity for the national team to make it to the seventeenth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2023. The selected players include Belizean footballers who are playing in countries such as the United States, Honduras, and the United Kingdom.
Ian Jones, team manager of the national men’s team, told reporters, “When we had the opportunity to go to Gold Cup, we lost three points because we were unable to land in French Guiana. This time around, we didn’t take that chance. Our tickets have been booked over a month ago; everybody has their French visas to enter, and so French Guiana won’t steal three points from us this time. They need to win it on the field. I want the public to know this won’t be like last time.”
Evral Trapp, captain of the team, expressed optimism about the team’s chances for victory at the games. “We have some experienced players and we got some young players, and we got a good mix, and I think if we go out on Thursday and move the ball like how the coach [wants] and we do it as a group, I think on Thursday, we should get that victory [that] we need,” he said.
Deon McCaulay, a striker on the team, also is hopeful about the team’s prospects for qualifying for a CONCACAF Gold Cup spot.
“First of all, I think we have a very talented group of players right here. It is not impossible for us to make the Gold Cup with the team that we have. It is just up to us to give a hundred percent [to] the country, and I would like more passion from the people, not only on social media but also in the stadium. I personally think that we have a very good group. I know that everybody here is going to give a hundred percent, and with the competition that we have, the hardest team would probably be Guatemala, but we are not [underestimating] anyone. But for us, we are going into each game one at a time and [getting] a result in each of the [games] that we are playing. And if we do that, we’ll definitely make it back to the Gold Cup,” he said.
Belize will face off against French Guiana, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala in the upcoming weeks.