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Golden Jaguars stand a chance!
FLASHBACK! Curtez Kellman battling T&T’s Isaiah Lee during their recent international friendly at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
– Curtez Kellman, Jeremy Garrett speaking World Cup qualification into existence
By Rawle Toney
Kaieteur Sports – Tommy Lasorda, the legendary Hall-of-Fame baseball manager, once said, “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.”
Every player dreams of competing in the FIFA World Cup, and for Curtez Kellman and Jeremy Garrett of the Golden Jaguars, their aspirations are no different from those of athletes representing the 211 countries affiliated with football’s global governing body.
However, just only 80 countries have ever qualified for the FIFA World Cup, and of that amount that have competed in the world’s biggest single-sport event, just 11 are from the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) region.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, Kellman and Garrett believes that Guyana could join Cuba (1938), Haiti (1974), Jamaica (1998), and Trinidad and Tobago (2006) as Caribbean countries to reach the premier tournament for the Beautiful Game.
“I think we do stand a great chance of Qualifying for the World Cup,” Kellman noted, adding that with Mexico, Canada, and the USA receiving automatic qualification for the June 11 – July 19, 2026 tournament, Guyana can compete for the three remaining slots available.
The Golden Jaguars are currently in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, preparing for their June 6 clash against Panama in Panama City, followed by a match against Belize on June 11 in Barbados.
Jeremy Garrett in action for Guyana.
After their match in Barbados, Guyana will focus on the CONCACAF Nations League, League A, before resuming World Cup qualifiers in 2025. They will play Nicaragua on June 6 and host Montserrat on June 10.
“We have a lot of tough opponents to play against, but each team that’s in the World Cup qualifier have at the back at their head that they’re going to qualify somehow,” Kellman added.
According to Kellman, “The Coaching Staff emphasis hard work and commitment as the only way of us getting to the World Cup. Playing against countries like Panama, that is ranked 44 in the world, I think for us to get past them, we have to do what the coach says and I think once we focus as a group, and buy into what the Coaching staff is telling us, we will become successful in their fixtures.”
As part of his preparation, Coach Jamaal Shabazz assembled a predominantly locally-based team that faced Trinidad and Tobago in a two-match friendly at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on May 13 and 15.
According Garrett, the intention of these games was to provide exposure and help broaden the pool of players available to the national programme.
Garrett, who captained Guyana at various youth-level international tournaments, expressed the joy of representing the Golden Jaguars in the World Cup qualifiers.
The 24-year-old Garrett said qualifying for the World Cup would be a “dream come true,” but acknowledged that realistically, several systems need to be put in place.
“I think a cohesive relationship is needed,” Garrett said, speaking on the relationship between the Government of Guyana and the football fraternity. “It’s just a gap to be filled between egos and responsibilities. Once we have all of that sorted, I think the sport can go a long way.”
He added, “There’s a vast majority of opportunities out there for local players, but as long as the egos and the responsibilities are sorted, we will be good.”
Guyana’s most significant advancement in the Cup Qualifiers occurred in the lead-up to the 2014 tournament in Brazil, where the Golden Jaguars reached the penultimate round in the CONCACAF region.
During this campaign, the Golden Jaguars faced eventual qualifiers Mexico and Costa Rica, along with playing El Salvador in home-and-away fixtures.
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