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McDonald: Playing for Montserrat is something I can tell the grandkids


  • Montserrat to face El Salvador, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada & US Virgin Islands
  • Montserrat will come face-to-face with El Salvador for fourth time in two years
  • Massiah McDonald speaks with Concacaf.com about the group’s latest progress

For the fourth time since September 2018, Montserrat will come face-to-face with El Salvador, this time in Group A in the first spherical of Concacaf FIFA World Cup Qualifying for Qatar 2022™.

The two sides met in week one in all Concacaf Nations League (CNL) qualifying in September 2018, adopted by a pair of contests final autumn in Group B of League B of the 2019/20 CNL.

All three of these affairs ended with El Salvador incomes a win, however by slender margins, together with a 1-0 El Salvador win in San Salvador in the CNL with the lone purpose in the final minute.

However, the Emerald Boys will get one other crack in 2021 at the Cuscatlecos on residence soil with hopes of amassing an enormous three factors.

“El Salvador were the biggest test the last time we played. By the balance of play, they deserved to win, but the goal that they scored was in the 90th minute, yet again, which they seem to do all the time,” stated Montserrat midfielder Massiah McDonald in an unique interview with Concacaf.com following the preliminary draw.

“It may have been a distinct story; it may have been a draw. It was a superb time for the boys and a giant second as a result of we’re small Montserrat and we took El Salvador till the ninetieth minute. We’re speaking about full-time gamers who play in the US or El Salvador and we’re taking part in our hearts out.

“Every game is a cup final for us. It means the world. We’re going to give it our all. People might think we’re the old Montserrat, but that’s not the case. We have good players.”

In addition to dealing with El Salvador in Group A, Montserrat, who completed eleventh in CNLQ and barely missed out on the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, will tangle with Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and US Virgin Islands. McDonald acknowledges that it is going to be tough to high the group, however he does see Montserrat being aggressive till the finish.

“If I’m being honest, winning the group would be a big ask, but we seem to pull surprises out of the hat all of the time. People didn’t expect us to be where we were when we barely missed out on the Gold Cup. We came a long way in such a short time and I think some people started paying attention to us. We have a group of players who can come together in a short span of time and put it together,” stated McDonald.

A driving drive behind Montserrat’s emergence in recent times is a gaggle of England-born and primarily based gamers who’re eligible to play for Montserrat. That core group of gamers, mixed with the logistical challenges of opposing groups arriving to Montserrat, have turned Montserrat into one in all the hardest groups to face in the Caribbean.

“It’s tough to get to Montserrat,” said McDonald. “It includes loads of touring, in order that helps us out loads as a result of we’re so used to the touring anyway and we’ve already been there 5 days whereas different groups are developing a day prematurely. It’s scorching as effectively, however we’ve acclimatised to the situations and our sport plan has at all times been English type and I assume that’s why groups actually don’t like taking part in towards us.

“We’re quite physical, but we also have ball-playing players and have one of the best strikers in the English Championship (Lyle Taylor). There are a lot of players who are playing at high levels of English football and putting the calibers of players together, it’s a good mix.”

The 29-year-old is additionally hopeful that as Montserrat continues to generate consideration with their soccer, that it can present an financial profit to the island.

“It’s a beautiful country, it has a lot of nice beaches that aren’t really visited by tourists. The scenery is amazing, there is greenery everywhere, the views are incredible, so it’s nice to put Montserrat back out there so it gets people thinking about Montserrat. Hopefully it gives something back to the country in an economical and financial sense,” stated McDonald.

Montserrat line up for a team photo

© Concacaf

Another key side to Montserrat’s emergence has been the regular hand of head coach Willie Donachie, a 68-year-old Scotsman who has a wealth of expertise.

“He is one of the most experienced coaches we could have. He knows his stuff, he played for Scotland in the World Cup, he played for Manchester City. He knows what he’s talking about and he knows how we can win games and it works. He’s been a breath of fresh air. Everyone does their bit and plays their part. To play for Montserrat now as this is happening and where it could potentially be is going to be something that I can tell the grandkids,” stated McDonald.

Yet McDonald is additionally fast to focus on the work put in by others, together with the nation’s younger gamers who assist the nationwide group in all phases, plus the veteran gamers who caught with the program even when Montserrat have been affected by lopsided losses in earlier cycles.

“To be part of what Montserrat has grow to be after what it was once, I got here in when it was beginning to transition. There are gamers who’ve been there when there was nothing, like midfielder Dean Mason. These are the gamers who have been there when Montserrat have been dropping 7-1 and so they’ve caught by. Some gamers would have stated I’m not doing it anymore, however they caught by and I give credit score to them. They stayed and we’re the place we’re because of them.”



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