The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team will take on St. Kitts and Nevis in its third match of the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship on Friday, Feb. 24 at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in Tibas, Costa Rica. The game can be seen live at 5:30 p.m. ET on Univision Deportes Network or via livestream on the official CONCACAF Facebook page.
Here are five things you should know about the USA’s upcoming opponent:
Who and Where is St. Kitts and Nevis?
A dual island nation in the West Indies, a direct flight from Miami to the airport closest to the capital city of Basseterre, Robert L. Bradshaw International, is roughly three hours and covers 1,272 miles. St. Kitts is also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island, from the island’s patron saint. The Nevis and Saint Christopher Islands were two of the first Caribbean islands settled by Europeans, while the latter was home to the first British and French colonies. The dual-island country’s population was 54,961 in 2015 and the official language is English. The currency used by Kittitians and Nevisians is the East Caribbean dollar (ECD), which currently trades around .37 ECD for one U.S. dollar. Until 2005, sugar was the primary export from the country a fact exhibited by the national team’s nickname, the Sugar Boyz.
How They Got Here
The Sugar Boyz come into the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship as the fifth-place finishers of the 2016 Caribbean Football Union’s Under-20 tournament. Their journey through the CFU Championship included wins against Jamaica, Dominica and Curacao.
St. Kitts and Nevis Roster
The professional clubs with the largest representation of players on the St. Kitts and Nevis roster is Newtown United, with four associated players. Newtown United, along with Garden Hotspurs (2), SPD United (2), St. Peters FC (2), Village Superstars (2), Cayon Rockets (1), Conaree FC (1), St. Pauls United (1) and Strikers FC (1) are all members of the Saint Kitts and Nevis highest soccer league, the SKNFA Premier League. The 16 players currently on teams from St. Kitts and Nevis’ top professional league account for 80 percent of the roster.
Goalkeepers (2): Akimba Francis (SPD United/SKN), Nathan Joseph Lescott (Leicester City/ENG)
Defenders (6): Ezer Browne (James Madison University/USA), Salas Cannonier (St. Peters FC/SKN), Xavier French (SPD United/SKN), Phillip Richardson (St. Pauls United/SKN), Yusuf Saunders (Village Superstars /SKN), Javier Sutton (Strikers FC/SKN)
Midfielders (9): Gvaune Amory (Village Superstars/SKN), Steve Archibald (Garden Hotspurs/SKN), Ronaldo Belgrove (Newtown United/SKN), Alex Charles (Cayon Rockets/SKN), Kejauni David (Newtown United/SKN), Romario Martin (Solihull Moors/ENG), Yohannes Mitchum (Newtown United/SKN), Raheem Sommersall (Appalachian State /USA), Tyquan Terrell (St. Peters FC/SKN)
Forwards (3): Tahir Hanley (Garden Hotspurs/SKN), Delano Hodge (Conaree FC/SKN), Dakari Phipps (Newtown United/SKN)
Browne and Sommersall Playing in the USA
Two players on the St. Kitts and Nevis roster are currently associated with college soccer programs in the United States. Defender Ezer Browne (James Madison University) prepped at Rutgers Prep School in Somerset, N.J. and midfielder Raheem Sommersall, who prepped at Southern School of Energy and Sustainability in Durham, North Carolina, played at Appalachian State in 2015 and 2016. During the 2015 season, Sommersall appeared and started in 18 games with the Mountaineers. It wasn’t until 2016 that Sommersall recorded his first career collegiate goal.
Group B Advancement Scenarios:
2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship Group B Standings
|
GP |
W |
L |
D |
G |
Ga |
+/- |
Pts |
|
|
Panama |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
6 |
|
United States |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
Haiti |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
|
St. Kitts & Nevis |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
-8 |
0 |