The Young Sugar Boyz Under 20 National team will bow into action in the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship Qualifiers on February 23. St. Kitts and Nevis will be hosting Group E and Group F games here in St. Kitts at the SKNFA Technical Center in St. Peters, with the home side playing in Group E. The Sugar Boyz play Puerto Rico on February 23rd, Haiti on the 25th and the Cayman Islands on the 27th.
The Young Sugar Boyz are in advanced stage of preparations and according to Coach Alexis Morris, they are ready for the challenge. “The guys are putting in the work and I am grateful,” he said. He stressed this campaign; they will be focusing on the mental aspect of the game to help improve the mental strength of the players to get better results. “We told them time and time again at any given day its 11 v 11. Eleven of St. Kitts and Nevis players versus 11 of any other country we have to face…so they just have to be ready. Once they have embedded that deep within themselves, I am certain that they can win the mental race and in the end that could impact the tactical, physical and the technical part and at the end of the day we should be able to come away with results,” Morris said.
Coach Morris pointed to some of the positive developments with the team ahead of the tournament. “We have some pretty good defensive players and I believe that on any given day they can match up any team; whether it is Haiti, Puerto Rico or Cayman Islands. That for me is one of the greatest assets that we have,” he said.
Meanwhile, one of the players Shervin King, said he and his teammates are anticipating the challenge of representing their country and playing in front the home crowd. “I never had the opportunity to pay for a national team. I have been waiting for this moment a long time so I am looking forward to it,” he said. He appealed the fans to rally behind the team, being that the matches are being played at home. “We always need the fans as the 12th man. Coming up against Haiti, Puerto Rico is never easy so I think the fans will bring the extra support, be there for us. Even if we start the game bad, always be there for us, try to encourage us,” King said. St. Kitts and Nevis will also host Group F matches comprising Jamaica, Bermuda, Grenada and Martinique.
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