The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Football Association, along with its players and staff, is keyed on preparation and galvanising public support for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Qualifiers.

The men’s senior national team returns to international play with the qualifier and training camp for the team commences Thursday as players go through the final stage in the selection process.

The Bahamas drew to play Bermuda in round one of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Qualifiers. The game is scheduled for 7:30pm March 25 at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium.

National team goal keeper Dwayne Whylly said both the veterans and the younger players invited to the camp will provide an equal opportunity for the country’s best players.

“The first few days of camp will be an assessment,” he said. “This year we are bringing in a big group of guys in and it’s an open try out where you come in, you show your skills, you show your fitness and you put yourself out there for an opportunity to make the final squad.

Whylly is one of those veterans invited to camp and most recently has been a member of the national select squad which played against the US Olympic team last August.

“A lot of the guys have been down this road before so we know what it takes to get to the next level. We know every session we have to push ourselves beyond our limits because when we get in the game that is what it is going to take. So everyone is working hard and hopefully when we come together for camp this week, we can gel together quickly and do what is necessary to win this game,” he said. “This World Cup team will be a great mix of veterans and rookies. We have a lot of players out there that are playing division one college ball, who are playing at really high levels in some large schools and so it will be interesting. The BFA does a really good job bringing everyone home. When camp starts we will really start putting together how we are going to approach the game, with tactics, style of play and formations.”

The coaching staff will be led by head coach Dion Godet.

The first game for the Bahamas will be at home while the second half will be played on the road in Bermuda. If the Bahamas wins both games, they will head to Guatemala in June for the second round. “We played Bermuda in the Under-17 tie back in July of 2014, the coach for that team is the head coach for the squad coming over for the World Cup qualifier, so we have an idea of what he likes to do. He likes to bring the ball into the holding mid field and then distribute it to the flank and run a lot of back runs, so I am sure he will use a similar style and we are going to prepare, we are going to be ready and we will put on a show on the grounds of Thomas A Robinson,” Godet said. “The game is all about tactics. You may have perhaps a better technical team but if you have the will and the discipline  to play our game, at the end of the day, we have an opportunity and that is what it is all about.”

The side is expected to be named immediately following camp. Godet is calling on the Bahamian public to lend their support to the team and create a true home-field advantage when the sides face-off. “Because the players come from different colleges and different club teams they have different ideologies and we are going to try for one time period to put everyone together with one common goal,” he said. “We have started talking about our formations and our patterns of play but soccer players  are quite intelligent, quite adaptable and it is going to be a challenge but it will not be impossible. So we are looking forward to seeing these kids.”

In 2011, the Bahamas withdrew from the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification after defeating the Turks and Caicos by an aggregate score of 10-0 in the first round.

The senior programme had been dormant for some time until they participated in a friendly against the US Men’s U-23 Olympic team in August 2014.