Following a short pep rally at the Philip Goldson International Airport around 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, our Belize National “A” Team, 23 players strong, along with their coaches and technical staff and FFB delegates, is scheduled to leave Belize on the 11:00 a.m. United Airlines flight, stopping briefly in Houston, Texas, and then touching down in Portland, Oregon, at 9:00 p.m. Portland time.
In Portland, they will be staying at the Marriott City Center until their first Gold Cup game date on Tuesday, July 9, 11:00 p.m. EDT with hosts USA, at Portland’s Jeld-Wen Field in the nightcap of a double header that will feature Cuba vs Costa Rica in the Group C opener at 8:30 p.m. EDT.
The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup consists of 3 groups of 4 teams each: Group A – Martinique, Panama, Mexico, Canada; Group B – Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras; and Group C – Belize, Cuba, Costa Rica, USA. Held every 2 years, the defending Gold Cup back-to-back champion is Mexico in 2009 and 2011, with USA back-to-back sub-champs.
It will be the biggest football stage that a Belize national team has ever stepped on, and Belizeans at home and all over the world will be glued to their television sets to see our boys challenge some of the football giants in CONCACAF. Belizeans in the vicinity will also be looking forward to meet and give their support to our football ambassadors who are looking to make history again.
After their first outing against the USA in Portland, Oregon, the Belize team then leaves on Wednesday, July 10, at 16:59 hours on a flight to Salt Lake City, Utah, where they are scheduled to arrive at 19:45 hours and check in to the Double Tree Suites hotel, address 110 West 600 South, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84101, Phone: 801-359-7800. Our second game will be on Saturday, July 13, against Costa Rica, another nightcap encounter, this time at the Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City at 6:00 p.m. EDT, following a 4:30 p.m. EDT opener between USA and Cuba.
The next day, Sunday, July 14, the Belize national team takes off from Salt Lake City airport at 11:00 hours, destination Hartford, Connecticut, where they should arrive at 17:10 hours, tuck in to their hotel, the Crowne Plaza Cromwell, address 100 Berlin Road, Cromwell, Connecticut, 06416, Phone: 800-83-54-654. The last Group C games will be at the Rentschler Field in Hartford, CT, and this time Belize takes the field in the opener against Cuba at 5:30 p.m. EDT, after which it will be USA vs Costa Rica at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Hopefully, our boys will be able to enjoy watching the last game, without having to pray for any particular outcome to see us through to the second round. It’s a lot to hope for, but we have no apologies.
The original roster of 26 players has been reduced to 23 for the trip, but the 3 players left behind – Cristobal Gilharry, Floyd Jones and Bernard Linares – can still be called up if needed during the tournament. For other reasons, coach Charles Slusher will also not be on the plane tomorrow, so head coach Ian Mork will be assisted by Kent (Gabourel) Gray, Julio Santos and Rene Montero.
For easier identification of our Belizean fans watching on television, below we include jersey numbers assigned to the 23 players making the Belize national team “preliminary” roster for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They are: #22 Frank Lopez (goalkeeper), #27 Shane Orio (goalkeeper), #1 Woodrow West (goalkeeper), #24 Lennox Castillo, #13 Dalton Eiley, #7 Ian Gaynair, #20 Daniel Jimenez, #2 Elroy Kuylen, #3 Trevor Lennen, #14 Andres Makin, Jr., #25 Devon Makin, #6 Evan Mariano, #9 Deon McCaulay, #23 Tyrone Pandy, #10 Harrison Roches, #11 Michael Salazar, #8 Elroy Smith, #16 Ashley Torres, #30 Luis Torres, #2 David Trapp, #18 Evral Trapp, #28 Harrison Tasher and #5 Khalil Velasquez.