Vincy Heat battle Nicaragua in Nations League tomorrow

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ senior men’s football team Vincy Heat, will face off against Nicaragua from 3 p.m. tomorrow, at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, in the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League.

It will be St Vincent and the Grenadines first major international since participating in the Windward Islands Football Association tournament in Grenada last year.

However, leading up to tomorrow’s match-up against Nicaragua, the senior men’s team was engaged in some warm-up matches against local clubs, as well as a 2-2 draw against the Jamaica Under-23 team.
Vincy Heat goes into tomorrow’s match ahead on the record sheet.

In the two previous meetings with the Nicaraguans in World Cup qualifiers in June 2004, St Vincent and the Grenadines earned a 2-2 draw against the Central Americans on their home soil, and on return at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, the Vincentians won 4-1, to advance to the group stage.

Following the meeting with Nicaragua tomorrow, St Vincent and the Grenadines will be away to French Guiana on October 11, and to the Turks and Caicos Islands, November 18.

The Vincentians’ next home match is March 22, 2019, versus Bonaire.

Vincy Heat’s Malcolm Stewart tries to get ahead of a floored Sion Hill goalkeeper Ryan Tittle, in last Sunday’s practice match at the Arnos Vale Playing Field

A long list of players have been named to represent St Vincent and the Grenadines in the Nations League.

Lemus Christopher, Kevan Henry, Jadiel Chance and Jahvan Peters, are the goalkeepers.

Defenders named are Kevin Francis, Jolanshoy Mc Dowall, Akeem Williams, Kishawn Johnny, Jalen Miller, Dexron Wilson, Joseph Douglas, Jahvin Sutherland, Lesron Craigg and Javal Samuel.

Midfielders are Wendell Cuffy, Deron Hamlet, Deno John, Kyle Edwards, Brad Richards, Diel Spring, Joel Quashie, Teron Miller, Vasbert Ledger, Kemron Osment, Gidson Francis and Brandon Johnson.

Myron Samuel, Zenroy Lee, Nazir Mc Burnette, Azinho Solomon, Chavel Cunningham, Denis Prescott, Cornelius Stewart, Osei Thompson, Trivis Fraser, Trezine Da Souza, Cheslon Hendrickson, Romano Johnson and Tevin Slater, make up the strikers named.

The management team has as head coach Cornelius Huggins, assistant coach – Wesley Charles, goalkeeper coach – Kevin Richardson, strikers’ coach – Shandell Samuel, along with physiotherapist – Denis Byam and manager – Otnell Douglas.

The format of the Nations League qualifiers entail that all 34 teams’ points will be aggregated and placed in order from 1 to 34.

The National League qualifiers, exclude the six teams from CONCACAF, which reached the hexagonal stage of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

The six – Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, USA and Trinidad and Tobago, will join the top six teams emerging from the qualifiers, to make up League A, which kicks off in September 2019.

The teams finishing positions 7th to 22nd, would be placed in League B and those 23rd to 34th will make up League C of the Nations League.

The Nations League also serves as a qualifier for the Gold Cup, as the ten teams at the top of the heap and the six who were in the Hexagonal stage, will head to the 2019 Gold Cup in the USA, which has been expanded from 12 to 16 teams.