LONDON, CMC – Guyana international Liam Gordon said the Golden Jaguars will be looking to finish their Group D, League B matches in the Concacaf Nations League strongly and qualify to play against better competition in the future.
The 28-year-old defender, who plays for Walsall in the English League 2 championship, said it would be rewarding if the Golden Jaguars could finish top of their group and move into the top tier of Concacaf, which will expose the players to more robust competition.
“You have a group of four teams,” Gordon said in an interview on the Walsall website. “We’re in a group with Puerto Rico, Antigua & Barbuda, and Bahamas. We’re in League B, so the winner of our group will go to League A and play the likes of the United States, Panama, Jamaica, and Costa Rica – the best teams in North America and the Caribbean.
“You would also qualify for the Gold Cup, which I was involved in back in 2019. We are at the top of our group and need a point to allow. Although I’m unsure if I read it correctly, I don’t think there is a guaranteed qualification for the Gold Cup 2025.
“I think they may be adding teams from UEFA, so I’m not sure if that’s our chances blown, but we’re going to go with the same mindset, win these last two games and qualify for League A, make history again, and keep building because we have a great squad and a young squad so we have a great future.”
The Guyanese sit on a six-point lead going into their final two matches and only require a point when they face the Bahamas on Saturday at the Félix Sánchez Stadium in the Dominican Republic, where they face Antigua & Barbuda three days later to secure promotion to League A.
“I’m proud to represent my country,” the England-born Gordon said. “I get respect from the (Walsall) gaffer (Matt Sadler) that I am going away.
“I’ve had conversations [in the past] that if I were going away with Wales or Ireland, there’d be more respect, but because we were such a small country, there wasn’t. The gaffer has given me that, and all the staff have believed in me, and it’s an honor for me and my family.
“We’ve got a good balance of people playing locally in Guyana, England, Canada, and America. We’ve got a lot of talented players, and I dream that some of them come over here to play.”
Gordon is one of three Walsall players on international duty this week, with Donervon Daniels and Brandon Comley linking up with Montserrat.
“It’s an honor for all of us,” he said. “Donervon was born there, and Com’s family is also from there, so it’s an excellent opportunity for them to represent their countries. I’m sure their families are as proud of them as mine is of me representing Guyana.
Walsall was to face Doncaster on Saturday, but the match has been postponed as part of the international break with Gordon, Daniels, and Comley away.
“It will be a good experience for all of us, and hopefully, we all get positive results and come back ready to go when we have Forest Green,” Gordon said.
“It was hard last time because I was the only one who went away, and I did miss Salford and Gillingham when I went away, and it was hard to watch, but luckily, the boys did get two positive results from those games.
“But the game is off, so I don’t miss anything, and hopefully, I come back in great form and raring to go.”
Defender Daniels and midfielder Comley will be a part of the Montserratian squad that is third in Group B, League B, and desperate for two wins when they host Dominican Republic on Friday at Blakes Estate Stadium in Brades, where they will tackle Barbados three days later.
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