And so the journey to Brasil 2014 begins this Wednesday!Montserrat, the side officially crowned the world's worst after losing to Bhutan in 2002, is back at it, this time actually getting to play a two-legged first-round tie in FIFA World Cup qualifying after only getting one match in both of the previous editions of the tournament. Over two-thirds of the island's population was dispersed after a series of volcanic eruptions between 1995 and 1997. The capital city is a ghost town, but still they field a soccer team.
The team heavily relies on England-born men who have ancestral ties to the British overseas territory and thus are eligible to compete in the Montserrat uniform. Midfielder Anthony Griffith (#4 in the photo) plays in the fourth division of English football and forward Ellis Remy plays in the eighth division of English football.
Their opponents are a former British colony stuck right in the middle of Latin America, Belize, the traditionally weakest side of the seven Central American countries. Belize, for once, will be overwhelming favorites to win some soccer matches. Earlier this year, Belize finished seventh of seven in the Copa Centroamericana, but Belize were able to overcome St. Kitts and Nevis in the first round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup,a feat they would like to achieve again.
Belize feature four Honduran-based players, including stalwart Shane Orio in goal, a national team regular since 2000. At midfielder, Belize feature a couple of men named Elroy, Elroy Smith and Elroy Kuylen. At the forward position, Belize feature Deon McCaulay. Should McCaulay score twice in the series against Montserrat, he will become Belize's all-time leading scorer with six goals.
This match is designated as Montserrat's home leg but will be played in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago. Four days later, Belize hosts Montserrat in the return leg in Belmopan, marking a return to home soil for Belize in FIFA World Cup play after playing home legs in Guatemala City, Guatemala and Houston, United States in the 2010 edition.
Links:
Match preview: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1451305/index.html
Monserrat interviews: http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/news/newsid=1451575.html
Belize interviews: http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/news/newsid=1451567.html
Kickoff: 15 June at 17:00 Central time
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