Cayman’s hopes of advancing out of this year’s CONCACAF Men’s U20 World Cup Qualifiers held in the Dominican Republic were dashed this week after drawing one game, losing another and posting one victory in Group D.
Cayman’s campaign kicked off against Guyana on 6 Nov., where they drew 0-0. The team then faced Nicaragua on 8 Nov., losing 2-1.
However, Cayman made a statement against the US Virgin Islands on 10 Nov., in a match that ended in a 5-2 victory.
Cayman Islands Football Association U-20 head coach, Cláudio Garcia, told the Cayman Compass that while the results were disappointing, he is pleased with his squad’s performance, especially considering the level of competition that the team faced.
“I am really proud of all of my players,” Garcia said. “Unfortunately, games are like this. We could’ve done a little bit to surprise Nicaragua… [they celebrated] like they conquered the Champions League, because it was really tough for them. We had a conversation after, and they expressed that we are definitely an awesome team.”
During the game in which the Caymanian boys put on a scoring clinic against USVI, Shameer Hendricks-Seymour and Syrus Conolly each scored a pair of goals while teammate Elder Ebanks added another.
Garcia thanked the CIFA executive team for making the trip possible and urged the government to take notice of Cayman’s football talent.
“The government needs to believe in these youth because they’re pretty good, they just need a chance.”
The team returned to Cayman on Friday, 12 Nov., and began the required quarantine.
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