BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE St. Kitts and Nevis men's national football team is prepped and ready to compete in the new CONCACAF Nations League tournament, after what was described as a “successful” run during the last iteration of the competition.
With the League kicking off this evening (Sept. 7) around the world, high expectations are on the Sugar Boyz as they have set their mind on two goals - to qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and gain promotion to League A from League B.
If they can make League A, they will have more opportunities and go up against stronger competitors in the likes of Mexico, Canada, Haiti, Jamaica and the United States.
In order to do that, they must first be able to top their Group at the end of the League.
Jelani Archibald, one of the players instrumental in the successful run, told reporters that they do not feel a sense of pressure this time around, because the goal the last time out was to make the Gold Cup.
Since that achievement, it is now time for the players to go out and play more for their country and return with success.
"No, I don’t think there is any pressure, because for the past few years we have been trying to make the Gold Cup and we finally got over the hurdle. So I feel there is no pressure at all,” a confident Archibald said.
In his assessment of the Gold Cup, he emphasized that it was a “good experience” and that should be the aim of the players as one of the first targets.
Coach Austin Huggins noted that he is pushing his unit to not be complacent during this campaign coming off the successes it had in recent months., and in order to do so, he would be seeking to keep the player fit and disciplined.
“We are trying to instill a level of discipline in order to achieve what we want in the best interest of the country.”
During the last iteration of the Nations League, St. Kitts and Nevis topped the group to gain promotion from League C to League B. In the process of doing so, they qualified for the qualifying rounds of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States.
They had a successful run in the tournament, where they fought hard to qualify for the main round of the competition for the first time.
As the campaign begins tonight for the local team, all eyes will be on the fitness and strength of the locally-based players who will make up the core of the team.
Those players have had a long season that has not been completed as the Super Six is ongoing, but broke for the international window.
Concerning for some is that many of the players have not yet gotten enough experience of playing on the artificial turf at the Football Association’s Technical Center.
It is now left to be seen how the team will perform in League B where they go up against St. Lucia, Guatemala and Sint Maarten.
