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Glasgow, De Rosario, Moriah-Welsh in Shabazz World Cup qualifier squad
Kaieteur Sports – Chicago Fire’s Omari Glasgow and Seattle Sounders forward Osaze De Rosario have been named in Coach Jamaal Shabazz’s 24-man roster for Guyana’s start of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers campaign.
Osaze De Rosario
The Golden Jaguars will face Panama in Panama City on Thursday, and will then head to Barbados for their home game against Belize on June 11.
Glasgow broke into the Chicago Fire Major League Soccer (MLS) first team this season after joining their NextPro team from Fruta Conquerors FC in 2022. The 20-year-old has scored 16 goals in his 22 outings.
De Rosario made his Golden Jaguars debut against Antigua and Barbuda during League B of the Concacaf Nations League and has just signed with Seattle Sounders’ MLS NextPro team, Tacoma Defiance.
Shabazz will also have Nathan Moriah-Welsh at his disposal.
The player, who recently signed with Scottish Premier League side Hibernian FC, has not suited up for Guyana since scoring for the Golden Jaguars in their 6–0 win over Antigua and Barbuda in the final Nations League game last year.
Slingerz FC’s Captain Quincy Adams and his teammates Curtez Kellman, Darron Niles, Leo Lovell, and Akel Clarke will join the Guyana Defence Force’s Colin Nelson, Ryan Hackett, and Kelsey Benjamin, alongside Western Tigers’ Daniel Wilson as the locally-based players on the team.
Omari Glasgow
The team’s selection came following a two-week training camp in Brazil, which concluded over the weekend.
Alongside tactical drills and fitness sessions, the Golden Jaguars engaged in four test matches against Brazilian clubs, including Flamengo FC, one of Brazil’s premier clubs with the second-largest global fanbase.
Shabazz shared that the players have put in a lot of work over two weeks, and the coaching staff have seen improvement from the first couple of days to now.
“The matches in Brazil provided a good dress rehearsal for us. Our tactical patterns are ambitious but clearly understood by the players. We have a couple more days to complete our work.”
The Guyanese team faces a challenging journey for World Cup qualification between June 2024 and 2025.
Drawn into Group D alongside Panama, Nicaragua, Montserrat, and Belize, they face formidable opponents starting with their opening fixture against Panama, currently ranked third on the CONCACAF Index as of March 31.
Guyana currently occupies the 19th position on the table.
The squad is set to take on Belize, currently ranked 29th by CONCACAF, in Barbados on June 11.
GFF President Wayne Forde wished the team a good start to their World Cup journey, adding: “They have the full backing of the Federation and the support of the Guyanese people. We are confident that the players will represent the country with pride.”
Nathan Moriah-Welsh
The qualification process comprises three stages, involving thirty-two FIFA-affiliated Concacaf Member Associations. In the initial round, the lowest-ranked Member Associations, such as Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, United States Virgin Islands, and Anguilla, competed.
Moving into the Second Round, the first-round victors and the remaining twenty-eight participating Member Associations, including Guyana, will partake in a series of four matches. Only the group winners and runners-up will progress to the third and final round of Qualifiers.
In the Final Round, the second-round group winners and runners-up—comprising twelve teams—will be divided into three groups of four teams each.
These teams will battle it out in six home-and-away matches across the FIFA international match windows of September, October, and November 2025. The victorious trio from these groups will secure their places in the prestigious World Cup.
Guyana’s ambition is to secure one of these three spots for direct qualification, aiming to make their debut appearance in the World Cup alongside hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The GFF urges Guyanese, both at home and abroad, to rally behind the Golden Jaguars as they pursue their ambitions for the 2026 World Cup.
Goalkeepers: Quillan Roberts, Kai McKenzie Lyle and Akel Clarke.
Defenders: Curtez Kellman, Jalen Jones, Colin Nelson, Terrence Vancooten, Quincy Adams, Leo Lovell, Liam Gordon, Terique Mohammed, and Miquel Scarlett.
Midfielders: Nathan Ferguson, Ryan Hackett, Elliot Bonds, Daniel Wilson, Nathan Moriah Welch, Stephen Duke McKenna, Kadel Daniel, and Darron Niles.
Forwards: Kelsey Benjamin, Omari Glasgow, Deon Moore, and Osaze De Rosario.
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