Overview:
Though Les Grenadières didn’t have the offensive aptitude they portrayed previously, the under-20 aspect nonetheless downed Antigua and Barbuda 3-1 in its first World Cup qualifying recreation. Regardless of not being on the high of their recreation within the attacking third, the younger Haitian ladies Haiti had been a pleasure to look at within the midfield, offensively and defensively.
Haiti’s under-20 soccer staff was not at its greatest however nonetheless managed to crawl again from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Antigua and Barbuda 3-1 in its first World Cup qualifying recreation at ABFA Technical Heart in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda on Friday afternoon, Feb. 21.
Haiti’s starlet Lourdjina Etienne was absent attributable to difficulties touring from France to Antigua and Barbuda, in accordance with native reviews. Her absence confirmed. Les Grenadières lacked the dynamism and movement they’d within the Concacaf U-17 Championship in February 2024.
Etienne, the 2024 Concacaf U-17 high participant, traveled to France for a trial with Paris Saint-Germain however was unsuccessful. She then had a tryout with Olympique Lyonnais. The 17-year-old will miss the whole first section of the World Cup qualifiers, which is an enormous blow for Haiti.
Pierreline Nazon stepped as much as the plate throughout Etienne’s absence, scoring two targets and racking one help. Nazon scored two tap-ins within the thirty first and 52nd minute. Ella Etienne scored Haiti’s first objective, steering a low shot from the 18-yard field within the seventeenth minute.
Etienne was on the right track simply eight minutes after Antigua and Barbuda surprisingly opened the scoring. Djoulissa Pierre hit a weak defensive header within the ninth minute. Then, Antiguan Iressiea Allen intercepted the ball and slotted it to the left nook of the web for the 1-0 (9’) lead over the younger Haitians in opposition to the spherical of play.
Les Grenadières lacked vitality within the ultimate third throughout the whole recreation and shot the ball poorly. They solely had 37.5 % of their photographs on the right track. Even when a few of their photographs had been on the right track, they had been weak photographs.
For instance, Etienne took a weak shot from exterior the field within the sixteenth minute. She then shot vast within the nineteenth minute and despatched one other try over the bar within the twenty third minute. Etienne was one of many standout gamers of the evening, proving her affect by getting her identify on the scoresheet.
A laborious but well-earned comeback for the lukewarm Haiti aspect
Regardless of not being on the high of its recreation within the attacking third, Haiti was a pleasure to look at within the midfield, offensively and defensively. The Haitians pressed Antigua and Barbuda within the midfield all the way in which to the dying seconds of the sport. For example, as quickly as an Antiguan participant touched the ball within the midfield within the eighty fifth minute, she was surrounded by a number of Haitian gamers and consequently misplaced the ball.
Offensively, the midfielders usually delivered fast and clever ahead passes. One standout midfielder for her passing ability was Brianna Crevecoeur. One in all her most elegant passes was a exact by means of ball to Dominique Desert within the field. Desert was capable of finding Nazon, who scored a tap-in.
After the primary spherical of video games within the qualifiers, Haiti tops the desk of Group A. Within the different encounter of the group, Guyana and Belize drew 0-0.
Les Grenadières will likely be again in motion this Sunday, Feb. 23, dealing with Belize on the ABFA Technical Heart in St. John, Antigua and Barbuda, at 9 a.m. native time. The Concacaf FIFA U-20 Girls’s World Cup Qualifiers include six teams of 4 groups. The winners of every group will advance to the subsequent spherical, the place 4 groups will qualify for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Girls’s World Cup to be held in Poland.