Vincy Heat set for Haitian battle in July

THE DATES FOR the Gold Cup qualifiers have been set, and will see St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Vincy Heat squaring off against Haiti in the CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifiers on either July 2 or 3, according to the regional confederation.

The match is set for the Inter Miami Stadium in South Florida, USA. The route to the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the Vincentians would mean overcoming the Haitians, then taking on either Bermuda or Barbados, which is another of the qualifying ties.

Once successful in their two matches, St Vincent and the Grenadines will join Group B, along with Canada, Martinique and the USA.

St Vincent and the Grenadines is seeking its second look in at the prestigious CONCACAF Gold Cup, following their debut back in 1996, after placing second in the then Caribbean Cup in 1995.

The Vincentians came close to a direct berth to this year’s tournament, but failed to earn at least a draw versus Dominica, going down one-nil. This was in their final match of the CONCACAF Nations League in November 2019.

Getting that direct ticket was Suriname that topped the group which also contained Nicaragua.

Also set for the other qualifying match-ups on July 2 or 3, are Guyana versus Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago against Montserrat; Bahamas versus Guadeloupe, while Cuba play French Guiana.

Another second stage match ups are the winners of the Guyana versus Guatemala and Bahamas against head to Group C, alongside Costa Rica, Jamaica and Suriname.

Meanwhile, the winner of the Trinidad and Tobago against Montserrat tie faces the winner between French Guiana and Cuba, for a Group A spot, with Curacao, El Salvador and Mexico, being the others already qualified. And, Group D is composed of Grenada, Honduras, Panama and guest team Qatar.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup takes place July 10 to August 1.