National squad announced

The following twenty-four players have been called up by coach Jose de la Paz Herrera to the Belizean national team's provisional squad for the forthcoming 2011 Central American Cup in Panama: Goalkeepers: Shane Orio, Woodrow West and Glendford Chimilio. Defenders: Elroy Smith, Dalton Eiley, Kent Gabourel Jr, Trevor Lennon, Ian Gaynair, Evrall Trapp and Tyrone Pandy. Midfielders: Ryan Simpson, Elroy Kuylen, Lisbey Castillo, Victor Morales, Harrison Roches, Luis Torres, Kareem Haylock, Luis Mendez and Amin August. Forwards: Deon McCaulay, Daniel Jimenez, Orlando Jimenez, Paul Nunez and Evan Mariano. The squad, which will be cut to twenty-one players for when the tournament begins, returned to their training camp yesterday.

In the final round of matches in this opening season’s regular stage of the Caribbean Motors Cup, FC Belize went goal crazy at Belmopan Blaze, winning 6-1 with hat-tricks for both Christian Okonkwo and Jarrett Davis. However, despite this heavy defeat the Blaze have managed to hang on to the sixth and final play-off place as challengers Hankook Verdes were beaten 0-1 at home by regular season winners, Belize Defence Force. In the week’s other game, San Felipe Barcelona and Toledo Ambassadors shared a 1-1 draw. The Championship play-offs begin on January 2nd with Toledo hosting Belmopan and San Felipe travelling to Griga United for the right to play the top two in the semi-finals.

BDF seek treble triumph

Treble championship chasers Belize Defence Force sealed this season’s regular stage opening crown with a comfortable 4-0 home victory over Belmopan Blaze. Two goals from Daniel Jimenez and strikes from Khalil Valasquez and Evan Mariano mean that BDF now has an unassailable lead at the top. Their closest rivals, FC Belize, maintained their form going into the play-offs with a 2-1 win at Griga United. Dennis Serano had put the home side ahead on the half-hour, but FCB replied with goals from Christian Okonkwo and Delwin Jones either side of half-time. The Nigerian Okonkwo’s goal puts him level with San Felipe Barcelona’s Deris Benavides on eight at the top of the league’s goal-scoring chart. Hankook Verdes recorded only their third victory of the season and kept alive their hope of pinching the sixth and final play-off spot with an impressive 1-0 triumph over SFB, Roy Cano scoring the winning goal in the 63rd minute. This results also means that Toldeo Ambassadors move into third place following their 3-0 walkover win over San Pedro Sea Dogs. The regular season concludes this Thursday with Belize Defence Force travelling to Hankook, whilst Belmopan and San Felipe host FC Belize and Toledo respectively.

Belize has risen three places to 172nd in the new FIFA World Rankings – not bad considering the team hasn’t played an international match for over two months! Our ranking within the CONCACAF region has also improved by a single place to 26th.

In the final warm-up game involving teams competing in next month's Central American Cup in Panama, Honduras defeated the tournament hosts 2-1 in San Pedro Sula, avenging their 0-2 defeat in the reverse fixture last month. Johnny Leveron scored both of the Honduran goals, with Edwin Aguilar replying for Panama.

Honduras vs Panama match highlights

Coach Herrera's future in doubt

Many thanks to James Lewis for the above photo

The Men’s Senior national team has begun its training camp in preparation for next month’s Central American Cup in Panama. Coach Jose de le Paz Herrera (pictured above during a recent training session) has been putting the players through their paces at the FFB Stadium in Belmopan, the only FIFA-certified stadium in Belize. However, Herrera’s long-term future as national team coach has been thrown into doubt after it was revealed he has signed a deal to coach his former club, Marathon of Honduras, during this season’s Clausura championship. His contract with Belize supposedly runs out after the CAC tournament, but it is to be hoped that he can continue with his role on a part-time basis, particularly if the team qualifies for next summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup. The team has made great progress under his guidance and it would be a huge blow to Belizean football should he leave.

In the Caribbean Motors Cup, double-reigning champions Belize Defence Force all but sealed this season’s regular stage opening championship with a 2-1 win at closest rivals, FC Belize. A penalty kick from defender Vallan Symms just before half-time gave BDF the victory which puts them six points clear of FCB with just two games to play. They have the opportunity to clinch first place on home soil this coming Sunday, with only a draw being required against Belmopan Blaze. Elsewhere, Toledo Ambassadors went into third spot with an impressive 2-0 win over Griga United, whilst the aforementioned Blaze secured a fine 4-1 away victory at fellow strugglers Hankook Verdes.

Elimination for battling Belize youngsters

Belize under 20s suffered a disappointing double defeat in Honduras as their attempt to qualify for the 2011 World Cup fell at the first hurdle. In the opening game of the UNCAF qualifying tournament they found themselves 0-4 down to El Salvador after just half an hour. A goal just before half-time from Michael Salazar (pictured above) gave the score-line some respectability, and a much improved second-half performance restricted the Salvadorans to just two further, very late goals and a final score of 6-1.
In their second game against Honduras, the Belizean defence performed heroics to lose only 0-3, a performance that was all the more impressive given that their hosts had beaten El Salvador 4-0 in the group’s middle fixture.
Overall, the competition was an excellent learning experience for Coach Couch’s team, all of which bodes well for the future of the senior side, speaking of whom, yesterday began their training camp for next month's Central American Cup.

Belize vs El Salvador highlights

A sensational weekend in the Caribbean Motors Cup saw both of the top two teams lose. League leaders Belize Defence Force went down 1-2 to an injury-time penalty kick from the competition’s leading scorer Deris Benavides at San Felipe Barcelona, whilst second-placed FC Belize were beaten 3-4 at home by Toledo Ambassadors - Ashley Torres grabbing the winning goal five minutes from the end. In the league’s other game, Griga United consolidated their position in third and extended their unbeaten run to five matches with a 1-0 win at Belmopan Blaze. This coming Sunday sees the potential regular season decider between FCB and BDF at the MCC Grounds. Their first meeting earlier in the season saw the reigning champions triumph 2-1 with an injury time goal from Daniel Jimenez.

Youngsters eye World Cup Finals

Belize's under 20 team begins its quest to qualify for the 2011 FIFA World Cup today with a match against El Salvador in La Ceiba, Honduras. The three-team UNCAF qualification group concludes on December 5th when Belize meet their Honduran hosts. The group winners automatically qualify for the CONCACAF Championship to be held in Guatemala from 3rd to 17th of April, whilst the second placed team face a play-off with Costa Rica to decide the final qualifying berth - hosts Guatemala and Panama having already booked their places. From the 12-team CONCACAF tournament, four nations will qualify for the World Cup Finals taking place in Colombia, July 29th to August 20th.

Belize Squad for UNCAF tournament: Goalkeepers: Darrell Novelo and Tevin Gamboa. Defenders: Asrel Sutherland, Darnell Suazo, Edwin Plama, Kadeem Courtney, Kyle Flowers and Nelson Linares. Midfielders: Andres Makin, Adgar Adderley, David Ramos, Kishane Pech, Luis Torres and Samuel Figueroa. Forwards: Abraham Chavez, Gabriel Perez, Rollin Burgess and Michael Salazar.

Sadly, the Belize under 17 team withdrew from November's UNCAF qualifiers for next year's FIFA World Cup in Mexico.

In the latest round of matches in the Caribbean Motors Cup, Belize Defence Force strengthened their position at the summit of the league with a comfortable 3-0 home victory over Toledo Ambassadors. Meanwhile, nearest rivals FC Belize had to rely on a late goal to overcome San Felipe Barcelona, 3-2. The league's other game finished in a 1-1 draw between Griga United and Hankook Verdes.

Belize international goalkeeper Shane Orio and his Marathon teammates suffered play-off heartbreak at the end of the Honduran Premier League opening (Apertura) season. They were beaten 2-4 on aggregate in the play-off semi-finals by Real Espana, despite having finished a place higher (2nd) than their rivals during the regular season. In contrast, Orio's fellow Belizeans in Honduras endured disappointing club seasons. Harrison Rochez and Elroy Kuylen at Platense finished one place and one victory outside of the play-offs in fifth, whilst Deon McCauley and Elroy Smith had a disastrous campaign with Deportes Savio, the club ending up third from bottom of the table. However, Smith enjoyed a stellar season in front of goal, scoring an incredible eight times from his defensive position.