TEAM BELIZE DEPARTS TO TAKE ON MEXICO

The 21 players of the Belize national football selection left Belize today, for Houston, Texas USA, to take on football powerhouse Mexico, in round two of the qualifying games for the 2010 FIFA World Cup scheduled in South Africa.
These young sports ambassadors are undaunted by their David vs. Goliath confrontation with Mexico, and rightly so, they have taken Belize past the first round, for the first time ever, by winning the two game series against St. Kitts/Nevis in February.
Their spirits were high when they boarded a direct flight to Houston this morning, because they know they have put in the physical training, studied the tapes of their opponents in action, and discovered what strategies they will have to use to overcome the giant called Mexico.
The months of training at the Football Federation of Belize’s (F.F.B.) Institute outside Belmopan are about to pay off and all eyes will be on Houston, where the game is expected to start sometime after 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 15.
F.F.B. president, Dr. Bertie Chimilio, leads the Belize delegation, but the real leader on the field is their seasoned goalkeeper, 27-year-old Shane Orio, who won several semi-pro championships in Belize with Kulture Yabra, and now plays for Puntarenas, in Costa Rica’s professional league. He helped Puntarenas win as sub-champions in last year’s competition.
Alternate goalkeeper, Charley Slusher, at 35 is the oldest player on the team, and he is a veteran of the Belize selection, which lost by an aggregate of 8-0 in their two games of the first qualifying round against Canada for the 2006 World Cup in Seoul.
Most recently, he successfully defended his goal to help semipro rookies B.D.F. win the Belize Premier League’s sub-championship this year.
Belize’s other professionals who are playing in the region include 24-year-old striker Harrison “Kafu” Roches, and 26-year-old midfielder, Elroy Smith; both play with Deportes Sabio, in Honduras.
Ryan Simpson, 22, also had professional experience with Atletico Chiriqui in Panama, but returned home to play last season with Georgetown Ibayani.
What the selection lacks in experience, they make up for with youthful energy and enthusiasm. Belizean fans can also expect exciting action from 19-year-old Deon Macaulay of the B.D.F. team, the BPFL’s top goal-scorer a year ago, and 27-year-old Jerome James, of F.C. Belize, who won the BPFL’s Most Goals award this past season.
The 2008 MVP of the BPFL, Daniel Jimenez, 19, is the youngest player on the selection, but he too is confident that Belize will get some goals.
Their strategy is simple: lock up shop to keep the Mexicans out of their backfield and goal area, and forward the ball to the midfield and strikers to get a goal.
Midfield general Deris Benavides, 30, of the San Pedro Dolphins will be creating the plays for the strikers, with the support of Bernard Linarez, 22, of Georgetown Ibayani, David Trapp, 26, of the Revolutionary Conquerors, and Cristobal Gilharry, 27, of F.C. Belize.
Coach Ian Mork replaced Jose Palmiro Salas as technical director at the beginning of May, and with the help of physical trainer, Luis Cabrera, has been preparing the selection for their historic confrontation.
In recent friendly practice matches, Team Belize lost 2-0 to Honduras, but scored 3 goals against Costa Rica in a 120-minute match that ended 4-3 in Cost Rica’s favor. The match was played in four 30-minute quarters, and ‘ticos’ were up 2-0 before Harrison Roches scored the first goal for Belize in the first quarter, and Dion Macaulay equalized the score at 2-2 in the second quarter.
The ‘ticos’ gained a 3-2 advantage, and Belize was denied a penalty when Macaulay was taken down inside the 18-yard box in the third quarter, but again Roches equalized the score in the fourth quarter. It was not until the last five minutes that the host team was able to score a fourth goal for the win.