U-20 Football: Guyana lose 5-0 to group-toppers Nicaragua

Faced with a must-win situation to earn direct qualification to the 2022 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship, Guyana lost 5-0 to eventual group-toppers Nicaragua in the qualifiers on Wednesday evening.

By virtue of the victory, the Nicaraguans have qualified for next year’s championship having won all their games in Group D, while the Guyanese will have to regroup and try another time.

Guyana finished third in the group with mixed results- a draw, a win and a loss.

Widman Talavera with a double in the 32^nd and 48^th minutes, William Palacios with strikes in the 60^th and 77^th minutes and Keylon Batiz with a 54^th minute effort accounted for Nicaragua’s goals.

Despite the defeat, Guyana’s Head Coach Wayne Dover praised his players for their efforts in the three games.

“Today’s loss is a disappointment,” he said.

“We came into this game with the intention to win and qualify. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result we sought.”

“To the lads, all I can say is ‘well done, you give a splendid effort; 110% to get to this stage.’ Unfortunately, we didn’t cross the line, but we go again from here. So well done lads.”

In the earlier games, Guyana drew 0-0 against the Cayman Islands and then won 5-1 against US Virgin Islands.