Golden Jaguars seek first win against Haiti today

The Golden Jaguars will face-off with Haiti today in an international friendly in Costa Rica as part of their preparation for their maiden campaign in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

It will be the second international engagement for the Guyanese in the space of five days following their 0-1 loss to Bermuda on June 6th at the Bermuda National Training Centre.

The clash will be the third ever meeting of the nations in competitive play with the Haitians yet to taste defeat against the Guyanese owing to a record of one win [1-0] and a draw.  

Haiti, a 1973 CONCACAF Championship winner [the precursor to the Gold Cup], enter the match on the back of two consecutive losses in international play.

The 1974 FIFA World Cup participant went down to South American giant and two-time defending Copa America champion Chile 2-1 on June 6th. Prior to their meeting with the Chileans, the FIFA 100th ranked outfit lost to El Salvador on June 2nd, FIFA’s 71st ranked side.

 Prior to those two losses, the Haitians had recorded four wins in five matches, following a flawless Nations League Qualifying campaign, which sealed qualification to the Gold Cup.

 Marc Collat’s side defeated Sint Maarten 13-0 [10th September 2018] in their opening match, before edging St. Lucia 2-1 [16th October 2018].

 They would overcome Nicaragua 2-0 [17th November 2018], before ending their campaign against Cuba via a 2-1 score line [March 24th 2019].

 Their only blemish during this period was a 1-0 defeat to El Salvador in an international friendly on November 20th 2018. In terms of the numbers, Belize have recorded 20 goals during this span, while conceding six times.

 On the other hand, the Bermuda loss snapped a one game winning streak for the Guyanese following their historic 2-1 win over Belize, a victory which sealed their place in the Gold Cup.

 Heading into the clash, Guyana possess a record of three wins and two losses in their five most recent matches, four of which occurred in the Nations League Qualifiers.

 A 2-2 draw with Barbados on September 6th 2018 commenced their campaign. However, Guyana was awarded the match via appeal, after it was deemed that the Barbadians fielded two ineligible players.

 An 8-0 drubbing of Turks & Caicos on October 13th 2018 occurred in their second match, before a 2-1 defeat to Curacao transpired on November 20th 2018. The Belize result ended their campaign.  

Analysis of the numbers indicate that Guyana has tallied 13 goals during this period, with the defence conceding six goals.

After the conclusion of today’s match and ongoing training camp, The Golden Jaguars will travel to St. Paul, Minnesota for their opening group-D encounter against defending champion USA on June 18th.  

 They will then oppose Panama on June 22nd in Cleveland, Ohio for their second fixture before ending the group round on June 26th in Kansas City, Missouri against traditional rival Trinidad and Tobago.