BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - AS time draws nearer for the opening of St. Kitts and Nevis 2018 World Cup campaign, those charged with getting the national team to Russia are commenting on preparations ahead of the first qualifying game against Turks and Caicos scheduled for Warner Park on March 23.
At a special episode of ZIZ’s Action Sports programme, head coach of the Senior Men’s National Team Jeffery Hazel indicated that he is focused on correcting the team’s mistakes during the Caribbean Football Union Tournament last year when it missed out on earning a spot in the final round.
“Well, our campaign started last year in the CFU tournament. Unfortunately we did not advance to the final round in Jamaica but some errors were made and we now gone back to the drawing board and will use this World Cup campaign to correct them. And it is our intention to go all the way, but first we have a short term goal to get over Turks and Caicos next week.”
He then went on to comment on the makeup of the team but explained that the announcement of the squad could not be made until it was ratified by the St. Kitts-Nevis Football Association (SKNFA).
“It is a good blend that we have put together; unfortunately we won’t announce it tonight. The SKNFA still has to ratify the team the staff has put together. We have a good blend of experienced and youth. We have included some of the young players to give them a chance to get a feel of what the National Team is all about.”
First Vice President of the SKNFA Alastair Edwards then commented on the preparation of the ground at Warner Park after some remedial work had been done on the facility, noting there were concerns that it would not be ready in time for the game.
“The preparation with the ground thus far, I think it caused us a bit of worry because that is the same ground that got damaged, but it is showing some signs of recovery. There was a sodding process that went on at both goal areas after much complains. We had some watering and we had some sharp showers in the recent past that helped, so the ground should be in good nick for Monday…not excellent but good enough.”
The SKNFA’s General Secretary, Stanley Jacobs, expressed his excitement of the Federation embarking on another World Cup bid.
“The FIFA World Cup as you know will be held between June and July of 2018 in Russia. In St. Kitts and Nevis our campaign commences Monday versus Turks and Caicos in round one. We expect that it will be an excited affair! As you know, the Senior Men’s World Cup is the flagship tournament of FIFA; it is the largest watched television event globally.
“Here in St. Kitts and Nevis we are eager to kickoff our campaign and so we are here to let the public know our campaign commences on Monday. This year’s World Cup qualifying campaign is a home and away basis, so we play our home leg on Monday then journey to Turks and Caicos for the away leg. We expect a fight and will not be taking Turks and Caicos lightly, and we will be putting everything in place so that the team is in a position to win and advance because in this format lose you go and win you advance.”
The latest FIFA rankings has the St. Kitts-Nevis National Team at 119 while their first round opponents, Turks and Caicos, are ranked at 176. Potential second round opponents El Salvador are ranked 86th in the world.
