Having secured a spot in the CONCACAF Gold Cup preliminary round to be played in Miami later this year, St Kitts and Nevis national senior team, the Sugar Boyz are eagerly anticipating what comes next.

They earned their place in the preliminary round courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Aruba on Monday at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium in Concacaf Nations League action. Keithroy Freeman scored both goals for the Sugar Boyz to seal victory.

Though happy with the victory, Coach Austin Dico Huggins, believed the team should have scored more goals. “The opportunity was there for us to get more but that’s the nature of the game. We managed to get two goals and we are successful so we move on to the next leg in Miami, which will be in June. We have more time to prepare ourselves much better,” he said.

 Now just one step away from making history - qualification to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, should they win their Miami – Coach Huggins expressed confidence in his team’s ability to get the job done.

“We are confident and we are looking forward to the opportunity to go out and display our talent and to let people know what St. Kitts (and Nevis) has and we can once more compete with the big boys,” Huggins said.

Meanwhile, Aruba’s coach Marvic Bermudez, said they were unable to nullify the long ball threat from St. Kitts and Nevis.  “We saw the other teams in Group C and I told the guys the most difficult team in Group C is St. Kitts (and Nevis),” he said. “I told the guys we have a strong opponent so we have to be really prepared and I was right. St. Kitts is a real(ly) good team,” he said.

 A draw will be held on April 14 to determine the Sugar Boyz’s opponents for the preliminary round of the Concacaf Gold Cup.

Reggae Boyz Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson is happy that his team came away with a point in their CONCACAF Nations League fixture against powerhouses Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on Sunday.

The Reggae Boyz took the lead in the seventh minute through a spectacular right-footed volley from outside the box by Fulham midfielder Bobby Reid.

Mexico capitalised on a defensive lapse by the Jamaicans to make in 1-1 10 minutes later before the away team, once again, took the lead when Edson Alvarez scored an own-goal in the 32^nd minute.

Napoli star Hirving Lozano then converted a 47^th minute penalty to complete the scoring on the day with both teams settling for a 2-2 draw.

“It is a difficult place to come,” said Hallgrimsson to reporters after the game.

“They are one of the powerhouses in CONCACAF so we knew it was going to be a difficult match. I think we did some good things but we are starting a journey together,” he added.

While acknowledging that the team has a lot of improvements to make, the Iceland native was encouraged by the fact that the team can get something out of a game in hostile territory.

“I know we need to improve a lot of things still but, the good thing about this game for us is that it shows even though we go away and play in a difficult stadium like the Azteca, we can still get something from the game,” he said.

St Kitts and Nevis blanked visiting Aruba 2-0 to extend their lead in Group B of the Concacaf Nations Cup C League at Warner Park on Monday night.

Keithroy Freeman scored in each half for the home side that had Lois Maynard sent off late in the hard-fought encounter.

The win means St Kitts and Nevis’ Sugar Boyz sit atop the group with 10 points from four matches, six points clear of Aruba and St Martin who have four and two points, respectively.

The first real chance of the match came in the 21st minute for the hosts when Omari Sterling-James’ left-footed effort hit the post. His effort was one of 12 shots in the opening period but Aruba.

The Sugar Boyz were eventually rewarded in first-half stoppage time when Keithroy Freeman chipped Aruba goalkeeper and captain Eric Abdul in the 46th minute after chasing down a ball over the top.

Abdul was in fantastic form all night, his finest moment coming in the 74th minute when he parried a thunderbolt from Freeman over the bar.

And though his heroics kept Aruba in the game, his team was forced to open up as they chased an equalizer. This opened them up to a counterattack in the 80th minute that led to Freeman’s second goal.

The Sugar Boyz will return to League B for the next Nations League Cycle and will now play in the Gold Cup preliminary round as they try to qualify for their first ever appearance in the main draw of the competition.

Mexico and Jamaica played to a 2-2 draw in the final encounter in Group A of League A in the 2022–23 Concacaf Nations League at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico.

The tie assures Mexico the top spot in the group and a place in the Concacaf Nations League  finals in June.

Jamaica goalkeeper Jahmali Waite started for the visitors and made a pivotal save early to deny Hector Moreno in the 6’, as the home side looked dangerous early on set pieces.

Bobby De Cordova-Reid placed the Reggae Boyz in the lead with a right-footed laser from outside the box in the 8’, marking his third international goal and first in a League A match.

The hosts responded shortly after as Orbelín Pineda pounced on a rebound inside the box in the 17’, tying the encounter at one apiece.

Jamaica regained the lead off a corner kick in the 33’ when the service from De Cordova-Reid bounced off the left thigh of Edson Álvarez for an own goal.

The match was temporarily suspended due to lightning in the 34’ and restarted as soon as conditions were deemed safe to resume.

After the restart, Hirving Lozano was denied by the top post in the 43’ as Mexico was inching closer to the tying goal.

Henry Martin was brought down inside the box by defender Ravel Morrison as Mexico earned a penalty in the first minute into injury time. Hirving Lozano converted in the 45'+2 to tie 2-2.

Luis Chavez attempted to test Waite from long range in the 54’ but the shot went just wide.

Guillermo Ochoa came up with a quick-witted save in the 57’ on a Jamaica corner headed by Shamar Nicholson.

Second half substitute Diego Laínez saw his own attempt denied by the woodwork in the 75’ as the home side continued to search for the victory.

Lozano nearly had his second of the night, and the potential game-winner, in second half injury time but the attempt was just inches from the far post.

An early Maykel Reyes goal was enough for Cuba to get past Barbados 1-0 in a Concacaf Nations League B Group A contest on Thursday night at the Wildey Turf Stadium in Barbados.

Reyes, 30, was able to put one past Barbados goalkeeper Liam Brathwaite after latching on to a pass from midfielder Willian Pozo which deflected off forward Luis Paradela.

The job was made even tougher for the visitors when, in the 33rd minute, Barbados midfielder Omani Leacock picked the pocket of Cuba defender Yosel Piedra and was off and running the other way.

The centre back was forced to bring him down from behind, earning his second yellow card in three minutes meaning Cuba would defend its lead with 10 men for an hour.

The Tridents looked for an equalizing goal that would have earned them their first point of the Nations League, but weren’t able to beat Cuba goalkeeper Sandy Sanchez. 

They got an opportunity in the 84th minute when a chipped ball over the top from the edge of the penalty area nearly got to Barbados forward Ryan Trottman but Sanchez was quick off his line to scoop up the ball and secure the clean sheet.

Cuba stays atop the group and will look to earn promotion to League A when it hosts Guadeloupe on Sunday, while Barbados closes out the tournament with a trip to face Antigua and Barbuda at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

St Kitts and Nevis defeated St Martin 3-1 in their Concacaf Nations League Group B encounter at the Raymond E. Guishard Technical Centre in Anguilla on Thursday.

St Kitts, playing a 4-3-3 formation started with Julanni Archibald in goal with Lois Maynard at left back Raheem Hanley and Andre Burley at centre back while Gerard Williams marshalled the right side.

Romaine Sawyers, Omari Sterling James and Yohannes Mitchum played in the middle of the park while Tyrese Shade, Keithroy Freeman and the SKNFA Premier League’s leading scorer Tiquanny Williams in the attacking positions front.

St Martin, meanwhile, playing 3-5-2, started with Jordan Etienne in goal with Mickael Clio, Stephan Varsovie and Donovan Fils Aime protecting the goal.

Across midfield were from left to right Belony Dumas, Kevin Zonzon, Ismael Petchy, Emmanuel Richardson and Randy Gentes.

Pierre Bertrand Arne and Jeremy Peterson were the starting forwards.

Williams gave the Sugar Boyz the lead in the 26^th minute. However, the lead did not last long as St Martin pulled level five minutes later through Pierre-Bertrand Arne.

Sawyers sent St Kitts and Nevis into the break with a 2-1 lead when he scored in the 35^th minute.

That score-line would hold until Harry Panayiotou, who came on as a substitute for James in the 77^th minute, secured all three points scoring the game winner a minute from full-time.

The win takes St Kitts and Nevis to the top of Group B with seven points from their three games to date.

Aruba lie second with four points while St Martin have two points from four games played.

St Kitts return home to face Aruba on Monday.

A confident Sugar Boyz team arrived in Anguilla on Tuesday where they will face French St. Martin on Thursday in the first of two Concacaf Nations League matches.

“Everything is under control,” said team manager Jamir Claxton.

“Everything has been well-coordinated. We have a very good team working in the background as well supporting me, including the General Secretary Techell Mclean, Mr. (Cuthbert) Caines, the Head of Delegation, and other members of the SKNFA Secretariat.”

Meanwhile, the players are in good spirits and looking forward to the games ahead.

Chief among them is Lois Maynard, who is based in the United Kingdom and is excited about wearing national colours again. He knows a victory will be significant for St. Kitts and Nevis to advance to the next round for Concacaf Gold Cup qualification and said the team is ready.

“It’s always a proud moment for me. I can speak for the rest of the (UK-based players) as well,” he said. “We are all proud to be here representing St. Kitts and Nevis. We have a good chance this time around of reaching the Gold Cup.”

Maynard said that the camaraderie between overseas-based and local players has been good.

“We’re all one. We all link up together as if we’ve never been apart. I think that is the most important thing to be successful as a team,” he noted.

Jamal Jeffers, a local-based player concurred.

“There are not many new players. A lot of the UK-based players have been here before so they are not new to the system or new to the country,” he said. 

Jeffers urged the country to rally behind the team, especially when they play their home match on Monday against Aruba.

“We are going to put up a strong fight because we want to reach the Gold Cup,” he said.

The Sugar Boyz play French St. Martin at 3 pm Thursday in Anguilla and on Monday, March 27th at 6 pm at Warner Park Cricket stadium.

Aston Villa forward Leon Bailey and Spartak Moscow striker Shamar Nicholson headline a 23-man squad named by the Jamaica Football Federation on Monday for the CONCACAF Nations League fixture between the Reggae Boyz and Mexico at the Azteca on March 26.

Bailey and Nicholson are two of a number of players who were not apart of the squad for the two friendlies against the Soca Warriors in Jamaica last week.

Defenders Damion Lowe, Amari’i Bell and Kemar Lawrence are also among those who have returned to the squad while regular skipper Andre Blake remains absent through injury.

The match will commence at 7:00pm JA time (8:00pm ET).

The full squad is as follows: Goalkeepers: Jahmali Waite (Pittsburgh Riverhounds), Coniah Boyce-Clarke (Reading), Amal Knight (Lexington), Defenders: Amari’i Bell (Luton Town), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford), Dexter Lembikisa (Wolves), Adrian Mariappa (Unattached), Damion Lowe (Philadelphia Union), Richard King (Cavalier), Javain Brown (Vancouver Whitecaps), Kemar Lawrence (Minnesota United), Midfielders: Jonathan Russell (Barnsley), Bobby Reid (Fulham), Demario Phillips (Mt. Pleasant), Kevon Lambert (Phoenix Rising), Daniel Johnson (Preston North End), Ravel Morrison (DC United), Kaheem Parris (Dynamo Kyiv), Forwards: Jamal Lowe (Bournemouth), Cory Burke (NY Red Bulls), Trivante Stewart (Mt. Pleasant), Shamar Nicholson (Spartak Moscow), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa)

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz and Mexico were forced to settle for a share of the spoils after a feisty 1-1 draw in group A of the Concacaf Nations League Group A on Tuesday at the National Stadium.

The Mexicans began the game in an enterprising fashion and almost took the lead minutes after the kick-off.  A sweeping attacking move ended with Santiago Gimenez being brilliantly thwarted by Jamaica custodian Andre Blake who snuffed out the 2nd-minute attempt no more than four yards away from goal.

It was the Jamaicans who, however, took the lead, against the run of play, through a sweeping move of their own, punctuated in the 7th minute by a bullet-header from Leon Bailey, who was picked out in the box by Shamar Nicholson.

 Nicholson almost got on the scoresheet himself five minutes later but his towering header, after rising from a corner, crashed on to to the top of the crossbar.

After continuing to dominate the majority of the play, the visitors seemed set to end the half empty-handed but got some reward for their enterprise in time added on.

Luis Romo brought the team back on level terms after beating the Jamaican backline to a ball whipped into the area and heading past Blake just before the whistle.

In an entertaining second half, Nicholson almost restored the Jamaican's lead but saw his chip to goal cleared off the line by two Mexican defenders after successfully dinking the ball over the head of onrushing Mexican keeper Rodolfo Cota, after being played through on goal by Bailey.

The visitors, however, had plenty of attempts of their own, and Blake was kept busy, most notably diving full stretch to parry a fierce drive on goal from livewire Diego Lanez in the 68^th minute.

With the result the Jamaicans remain at the top of the group on 5 points, while Mexico picks up their first point of the competition, joining Suriname on 1.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors secured a 2-0 win over St. Vincent & the Grenadines as Group C action continued in the Concacaf Nations League B at the Arnos Vale Stadium on Friday.

Defender Neveal Hackshaw, who represents USL Championship club Indy Eleven, opened the scoring in the 17th minute before AEK Athens winger Levi Garcia got the second and final goal for T&T.

Trinidad and Tobago are now second in Group C with six points after three games, one behind Nicaragua who moved to seven points after securing a 2-0 win over the Bahamas at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau.

El Salvador got a late goal from Cristian Gil to rescue a 2-2 draw with Grenada in Group D of League A of the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League on Tuesday night at the Kirani James Athletic Stadium in St. George’s, Grenada.

Just like in their first encounter on Saturday, a 3-1 El Salvador win, the two sides would trade goals in quick succession in the first half.

This time it was Grenada breaking the deadlock in the 29’ when Jacob Berkeley Agyepong pounced on a deflected ball in the El Salvador area and fired into the net to make it 1-0 to the hosts.

But six minutes later in the 35’, El Salvador was on level terms, 1-1, when Nelson Bonilla was fouled in the Grenada area and Alexander Larin calmly converted the spot kick.

When it comes to the CNL for Grenada, no player delivers more in the big spot than Jamal Charles and the star striker would score his seventh career CNL goal for the Spice Boyz in the 54’ when he got behind the El Salvador defence and hammered in a right-footed shot to give his side a 2-1 advantage.

El Salvador looked to respond right away but they had to wait until the waning minutes for the 2-2 equalizer to come.

In the 88’, Darwin Ceren lofted a pass to Roberto Molina, whose shot was initially blocked by Grenada GK Jason Belfon, but Gil swooped in and scored to earn a precious point.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz cruised to a comfortable 3-1 win over Suriname in group A of the Concacaf Nation’s League at the National Stadium on Tuesday.

After a fairly even opening stanza, which saw Suriname slightly shade the scoring chances, it was Derby County midfielder Ravel Morrison who gave the Jamaicans the lead, with an inch-perfect free-kick, in the 16^th minute.

Plucky Panama, however, mounted an almost immediate response and were back on level terms five minutes later.  The speedy Yanic Wildschut, who was played in over the top, from just over the half-line, left a flat-footed Jamaica defense trailing in his wake before blasting the ball wide of Jamaica custodian Amal Knight 6-yards away from goal.

The Reggae Boyz refused to be kept quiet and would take the lead again in the 43rd minute.  The influential Morrison would find himself involved again.  This time the midfielder showed off a silky touch to bring down a lofted pass into the area and played the ball back to Junior Flemmings, who drifted across the area before firing a shot that wrong-footed Suriname goalkeeper Warner Hahn.

The Jamaicans were a much more dominant unit in the second half and capped that advantage off with another goal in the 70^th minute.  This time, Jamal Lowe was played through on goal by Shamar Nicholson, following Suriname’s loss of possession, and easily placed the ball wide of Hahn.

The win saw Jamaica move to the top of the three-team group A, after a 1-1 draw between the teams on Sunday.  Mexico, the other team in the group, are yet to play a match.

Head coach of the Jamaica Men’s National Football Team Paul Hall expects his Reggae Boyz to be better defensively in their return Concacaf Nations League contest against Suriname at the National Stadium on Tuesday.

Both teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Flora Stadium in Paramaribo on Saturday after Junior Flemmings gave Jamaica the lead in the 39^th minute before an Amal Knight own goal in the 84^th meant the points were shared.

“We need to make more improvements defensively,” said Hall in a pre-match press conference on Monday.

“I thought we gave them a little bit too much respect attacking us and allowed them to get through some shots at us which forced Amal (Knight) to make some really good saves, especially early on,” he added.

In the game on Saturday, the hosts were able to get off 10 shots, a statistic Hall says his team will need to bring down at home to secure the win.

“I’m looking for the boys to really make it a fortress at the back and just really focus on trying to be stingy with the number of efforts that we allow Suriname to make on us,” Hall said.

 Coach Hall also pleaded to the Jamaican supporters to make their presence felt at Tuesday's game.

"I want the supporters to come to the match tomorrow. I want them to show us that they're on our side. We need them to bring us over the line, we need that support," he said.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz kicked off play in the Concacaf Nation’s League League A with a 1-1 draw away to Suriname on Saturday.

After a first that saw more clear chances being created by the hosts, it was the Jamaicans who took the lead through Toulouse FC forward Junior Flemming.  Flemming put the Jamaicans into the lead after swiveling onto a low cross played into the area and firing past Suriname goalkeeper Hahn Warner in the 39^th minute.

Ironically, it was the Jamaicans who looked more likely to add to their lead in the second half but after missing a few early chances, found themselves pegged back late on.  Jamaica goalkeeper Amal Knight was credited with an own goal, after badly misjudging an 84th-minute corner that he punched into his own goal.

Former Trinidad and Tobago striker Stern John has been appointed head coach of the St Lucia Senior Football team. The St Lucia Football Association confirmed the appointment on Sunday.