Tonight, the Belize National "A" Team is in Costa Rica awaiting the first game of the first round of the Copa Centroamericana against the host county. They left for Costa Rica on Wednesday to attend the opening ceremonies yesterday, and they play their first game against Costa Rica tonight at 8 p.m.
And Head Coach Leroy Sherrier is looking to put off another impressive performance the way he did in the tournament as coach 12 years ago. In that match, the Belize National Team tied against Guatemala, with a score of 3 goals a piece.
And the fact that Coach Sherrier is a Costa Rican who has some inside knowledge of the Costa Rican National Team has not escaped the press in that country.
Here in Belize, excitement in high. We spoke to 2 of the FFB members this evening, and they told us that the team's mentality is to try to win each game with an equally strong offence and defence.
Here's how they explained it:
Luis Pena, PR Officer - FFB
"The mod going into the first game is one of confidence and excitement. The Belize National Selection left on Wednesday enroute to Costa Rica where they are right now and tonight is the big match which is the opener since Costa Rica is the host country. The guys are in Costa Rica right now, they are excited and they are waiting for 8 o' clock when the game starts."
Daniel Ortiz
"Sir, tell us what will be our strategy in terms of a play style - will it be a more defensive or offensive game?"
Luis Pena, PR Officer - FFB
"According to the coach it will be a more defensive and attacking game. However he has not release the official info on the game. I believe all coaches in the tournament have their own strategy and it's all about the surprise element. With Coach Lewis who is a very astute person, he has not really given us the game plan for the game as yet, but we believe it's a defensive and attacking game. We are here to qualify and we are trying to make the best of the games - all the games that will be played so that we can qualify for the gold cup in July."
"The National Team as we speak has its eye on all the 3 games. We are not thinking about any draw, we are thinking about winning because we can't go into a game like the coach said think we that we are going for a draw and then we end up losing, so for the 3 games that we are going to play which is tonight against Costa Rica, Sunday at 2pm against Guatemala and Tuesday against Nicaragua at 4pm. Belize is going for the win."
Daniel Ortiz
"I know that Costa Rica media has picked up on the fact that Mr. Lewis is Costa Rican in nationality and he is coaching the Belize Team and they have zeroed in on that fact. Do you think that he has some sort of insider information? Do you think that is key to this game tonight?"
Marlon Kuylen, Executive Member - FFB
"Definitely, he knows the player and he knows their style of play, so that will be a plus for us."
Email
Print