The Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) 20-member squad departed local shores yesterday for the CONCACAF Girls U17 first-round Qualifiers in Curacao.
The team, which features six international-based as well as 14 local players reads: Goalkeepers Ludesha Reynolds, Deekola Dougles, Defenders Allianna Holder, Affia Hartman, Hasha Holder, Angel Denny, Akasha Low-Koan, Midfielders Amanda McKenzie, Samara Rodrigues, Latesha Sutherdland, Samantha Banfield, Aliea Moses, Sidney Facey, Jaida Brooks, Jenea Knight, Forwards Alleia Alleyne, Kersti Thomas, Jalade Trim, Shanic Thornhill and Shamya Daniels.
Head Coach of the National U17 Women’s team Akilah Castello, said while some last-minute squad changes had to be made, individual technical and physical evaluations influenced the selection of the final 20: “Continuous individual technical and physical assessments were done to arrive at the final squad. We believe that providing the girls are technical and physically prepared, we will have a better chance at managing tactical decisions one match at a time.”
Guyana will feature in group-D alongside host Curaçao, The Bahamas and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
They will open their campaign at the Stadion Ergilio Hato Willemstad tomorrow against the locals at 20:30hrs.
They will then oppose St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday at 18:00hrs before concluding their campaign on August25 against The Bahamas at 17:00hrs.
According to CONCACAF, the event will feature 32 teams. The qualifiers will contain the lowest-ranked 16 teams based on the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Ranking as of July 2018.
They are Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Guyana, Honduras, Martinique, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and US Virgin Islands.
The respective top finisher from each section (A, B, C and D) will advance to the knock-out stage of the Final Championship. Meanwhile the remaining 16 teams, which comprise the confederations highest ranked, will participate in the Final Championship.
The teams who will be divided into four groups of four (E, F, G and H), are Bermuda, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States.
The top three teams from the aforesaid groups will join the winners of pool A, B, C and D in the round of 16 section. The resulting finalists and third place finisher will automatically qualify for the 2020 FIFA Women’s u-17 World Cup.
