Montserrat national football team

Montserrat
Nickname(s)	Emerald Boys
Association	Montserrat Football Association
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation	CFU (Caribbean)
Head coach	Willie Donachie[1]
Top scorer	Jaylee Hodgson (4)
Home stadium	Blakes Estate Stadium
FIFA code	MSR
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	205 1 (20 September 2018)
Highest	165 (August 2014)
Lowest	206 (January 2011–January 2012, June 2012, August 2012–September 2012)
Elo ranking
Current	227 (3 October 2018)
Highest	107 (February 1950)
Lowest	233 (September 2012)
First international
	Saint Lucia 3–0 Montserrat ; (Saint Lucia; May 10, 1991)
Biggest win
	Montserrat 7–0 British Virgin Islands ; (Fort-de-France, Martinique; September 9, 2012)
Biggest defeat
	Bermuda 13–0 Montserrat ; (Hamilton, Bermuda; February 29, 2004)

The Montserrat national football team represents the small Caribbean island of Montserrat in the CONCACAF football region. Football is the second most popular sport in Montserrat, after Cricket. The team play at the Blakes Estate Stadium, near the village of Look Out. The Montserrat football team was formed in 1973, and has entered the World Cup qualifiers since the 2002 edition, being eliminated in the first round on each occasion.

Due to the heavy volcanic activity on the island since 1995, the team has only played a handful of matches, and most of those have been away from home. Their only victories were against neighboring Anguilla in the qualifying tournament of the 1995 Caribbean Cup, winning 3–2 at home and 1–0 away. Apart from one other draw against Anguilla, all their other matches before 2012 have been lost.

On June 30, 2002, the day of the 2002 World Cup Final, Montserrat, then the lowest ranked team in the world, played against the second lowest team, Bhutan, in a friendly match known jokingly as "The Other Final", but lost 4–0.

History

The Montserrat national team is one of the newest in international football, having played its first senior match on 10 May 1991 during the 1991 Caribbean Cup tournament. The team suffered a 0–3 defeat to Saint Lucia at the Vieux Fort National Stadium in Saint Lucia. The team played their next match at the same venue, securing a 1–1 draw with Anguilla. Montserrat again entered the Caribbean Cup the following year but were once more knocked out in the Group Stage following heavy defeats to Saint Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda. They were drawn against the same two teams for the 1994 Caribbean Cup, but again left the tournament at the Group Stage after conceding 17 goals in just two matches. In 1994, the Montserrat Football Association (MFA) was formed. Like all other Caribbean football teams, the MFA became a member of CONCACAF.

On 26 March 1995, Montserrat played their first ever home international match. They defeated Anguilla 3–2 in Plymouth, achieving their first win. The team beat Anguilla again in the next fixture to ensure progress to the Second Qualifying Round of the 1995 Caribbean Cup. The 1–0 win in the second leg was their only clean sheet in international football to date and is also their most recent victory. The side exited the competition in the next stage, losing 0–20 on aggregate over two legs against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Soon afterwards, the Soufriere Hills volcano became active and the eruptions destroyed Plymouth, the capital of Montserrat, severely disrupting all football on the island. Despite the lack of football action, the MFA became a full FIFA member in 1996. However, it was a further three years until the Montserrat team played another international fixture. This was mostly because many of the island's footballers had emigrated away from the area, many of them to England.

After a four-year hiatus, the team entered the 1999 Caribbean Nations Cup. However, they were knocked out in the Preliminary Round of the tournament, losing 1–6 over two legs to the British Virgin Islands. Due to the volcanic activity, Montserrat had been unable to enter the FIFA World Cup for the 1998 tournament, so their entry into the 2002 World Cup qualification campaign was their first. Their inaugural World Cup conquest was not a success as they were defeated 0–3 away by the Dominican Republic. In the second leg, played in Trinidad and Tobago, the team fell to a 1–3 loss in front of a crowd of only 50 spectators. In 2001, the MFA visited The Football Association to raise money for a new stadium. The Blakes Estate Stadium was opened near the village of Look Out. The team's next match happened on 30 June 2002, the day of the World Cup Final, when Montserrat played Bhutan in a game known as "The Other Final". The friendly match between the two lowest-ranked teams in the world ended with a 4–0 win for Bhutan in front of 15,000 fans in Thimphu.

Montserrat entered the World Cup qualifiers once more for the 2006 edition of the competition, but again lost in the First Qualifying Round, this time losing 0–20 on aggregate to Bermuda. In the first leg at the Bermuda National Stadium they lost 0–13, which is their heaviest-ever defeat. The second leg, a 0–7 loss, was the first international match played at the team's new ground and was watched by 250 supporters. Montserrat then competed in the 2005 Caribbean Cup, but once more failed to progress past the Premilinary Round. In the team's most recent match in 2008, they were defeated 1–7 by Suriname in the First Qualifying Round of the 2010 World Cup. The match was played in Macoya because neither team's stadiums met FIFA standards.

A friendly against a Network Rail XI was played at Charlton Athletic's Valley stadium on May 19, 2012, ending in a 4–4 draw.

Montserrat achieved their first victory since 1995 and their first ever victory since joining FIFA, beating the British Virgin Islands 7–0 in a 2012 Caribbean Championship qualifying match, held in Martinique.^[2]

Montserrat all-time record against all nations

As of 8 September 2018

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	% Won
Anguilla	4	2	1	1	6	7	−1	50%
Antigua and Barbuda	1	0	0	1	4	5	−1	0%
Barbados	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0%
Belize	2	0	0	2	3	8	−5	0%
Bermuda	2	0	0	2	0	20	−20	0%
Bhutan	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	0%
Bonaire	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%
British Virgin Islands	3	1	0	2	8	6	+2	33%
Curaçao	2	0	1	1	3	4	−1	0%
Dominican Republic	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0%
El Salvador	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	50%
Martinique	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0%
Saint Kitts and Nevis	2	0	0	2	1	10	−9	0%
Saint Lucia	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	0%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1	0	0	1	0	7	−7	0%
Suriname	2	0	0	2	2	14	−12	0%
U.S. Virgin Islands	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
Total	28	4	3	21	30	106	−76	14%

Note: teams in italic indicates that teams are not FIFA members.

World rankings

The poor results of the team has seen them often frequenting the lower end of the FIFA World Rankings. The loss to Bhutan in "The Other Final" saw them fall to #203 in the rankings, becoming worst-ranked side in the world. After the addition of another two teams to FIFA, Montserrat achieved a new low of #205 between July and October 2004. In July 2006, they achieved a record high rank of #196 but they fell back down to #198 the following month. As of June 2014 Montserrat are #166 in the rankings, just ahead of Bangladesh.

Due to the number of losses incurred by Montserrat, the team have also traditionally languished at the lower reaches of the unofficial World Football Elo Ratings, which ranks teams directly based on their match results.

Colours

Since the team's first match in 1991, Montserrat have worn a first-choice kit of all olive-green. Currently, the away kit is red jersey, shorts and socks.

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Competition	Attendance	Montserrat Goalscorers
5 September 2012	Stade Omnisports, Lamentin (N)	Suriname	1–7	2012 Caribbean Championship qualification	188	Allen
7 September 2012	Stade En Camée, Rivière-Pilote (A)	Martinique	0–5	2012 Caribbean Championship qualification	400
9 September 2012	Stade d'Honneur de Dillon, Fort-de-France (N)	British Virgin Islands	7–0	2012 Caribbean Championship qualification	120	Campbell (2), Roach, Woods-Garness, Remy (2), Sargeant (o.g.)
30 May 2014^[3]	Blakes Estate Stadium (H)	U.S. Virgin Islands	1–0	2014 Caribbean Cup qualification		Hodgson
3 June 2014	Blakes Estate Stadium (H)	Bonaire	0–0	2014 Caribbean Cup qualification
27 March 2015	Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad (A)	Curaçao	1–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification		L. Taylor
31 March 2015	Blakes Estate Stadium, St. John's (H)	Curaçao	2–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification		Willer, Woods-Garness
8 September 2018	Blakes Estate Stadium, St. John's (H)	El Salvador	1–2	2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualifying		J. Taylor

Current squad

The following players were called up for the CONCACAF Nations League vs Belize on 14 October 2018 Caps/goals correct as of 9 September 2018 after the game against El Salvador.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
20	1GK	Micah Hilton	(1985-10-02) 2 October 1985	5	0	PC United
1	1GK	Corrin Brooks-Meade	(1988-03-19) 19 March 1988	3	0	Unattached

6	2DF	Michael Williams (captain)	(1988-02-05) 5 February 1988	5	0	Rushall Olympic
3	2DF	Marvin Farrell	(1990-05-16) 16 May 1990	3	0	Lewisham Borough
16	2DF	James Comley	(1991-01-24) 24 January 1991	3	0	Maidenhead United
2	2DF	Joey Taylor	(1997-08-18) 18 August 1997	1	1	Burgess Hill Town
15	2DF	Craig Braham-Barrett	(1988-09-01) 1 September 1988	1	0	Welling United
17	2DF	Dajour Buffonge	(1996-01-29) 29 January 1996	1	0	Redbridge
14	2DF	Doron Cassell	(2001-03-06) 6 March 2001	0	0	Unattached

23	3MF	Dean Mason	(1989-02-28) 28 February 1989	6	0	Concord Rangers
11	3MF	Solomon Henry	(1983-10-21) 21 October 1983	5	0	Unattached
5	3MF	Terrell Miller	(1994-12-16) 16 December 1994	3	0	Redbridge
9	3MF	Adrian Clifton	(1989-02-21) 21 February 1989	2	0	Maidenhead United
10	3MF	Brandon Comley	(1995-11-18) 18 November 1995	1	0	Colchester United
12	3MF	Mark Rogers	(2002-05-06) 6 May 2002	0	0	Unattached
	3MF	Kenneth Walcott		0	0	Unattached

	4FW	Kelvin Ponde	(1985-06-26) 26 June 1985	6	0	Unattached
8	4FW	Bradley Woods-Garness	(1986-06-26) 26 June 1986	5	2	Bedford Town
7	4FW	Spencer Weir-Daley	(1985-09-05) 5 September 1985	3	0	Barwell
	4FW	Lyle Taylor	(1990-03-29) 29 March 1990	2	1	Charlton Athletic
13	4FW	Ahijah Daley	(2001-05-04) 4 May 2001	0	0	Unattached
	4FW	Massiah McDonald	(1991-08-20) 20 August 1991	0	0	Coalville Town

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the Montserrat squad in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
MF	Alex Dyer	(1990-06-11) 11 June 1990	5	0	IF Elfsborg	v. El Salvador, September 2018

Coaching staff

Position	Name	Notes
Manager	Willie Donachie
Assistant Manager	George Dublin
Assistant Manager	Dennison Daley
Goalkeeping Coach	TBD
Fitness Coach	TBD

Competitive record

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record									FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter								Did not enter
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002	Did not qualify								2	0	0	2	1	6
2006									2	0	0	2	0	20
2010									1	0	0	1	1	7
2014									2	0	0	2	3	8
2018									2	0	1	1	3	4
2022	To be determined								Qualification yet to start
2026	To be determined								Qualification yet to start
Total	-	0/21	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	0	1	8	8	45

Gold Cup record

1991 – Did not qualify
1993 – Did not enter
1996 – Did not qualify
1998 – Did not enter
2000 to 2002 – Did not qualify
2003 – Withdrew
2005 – Did not qualify
2007 to 2009 – Did not enter
2011 to 2015 – Did not qualify

Caribbean Cup record

1989 to 1990 – Did not enter
1991 to 1992 – Did not qualify
1993 – Did not enter
1994 to 1995 – Did not qualify
1996 to 1998 – Did not enter
1999 to 2005 – Did not qualify
2007 to 2008 – Did not enter
2010 to 2014 – Did not qualify
2017 – Did not enter

Coaches

Willie Donachie (2018-)
Lenny Hewlett (2013–2015)
Kenny Dyer (2008–2013)
Cecil Lake (2008)
Ruel Fox (2004)
Scott Cooper (2004)
William Lewis (2002–2004)^[4]^[5]
Paul Morris (2000–2002)

References

↑ https://www.fifa.com/associations/association=msr/index.html
↑ "Concacaf". Concacaf.globalsportsmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
↑ http://www.themontserratreporter.com/cfu-football-comes-to-montserrat/
↑ "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
↑ "CNNSI.com – CNNSI.com's complete coverage of the FIFA World Cup – Bhutan routs Montserrat in 'other final' – Sunday June 30, 2002 05:39 AM". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 2002-06-30. Retrieved 2013-12-07.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] ttps://www.fifa.com/associations/association=msr/index.html

[2] "Concacaf". Concacaf.globalsportsmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-07.

[3] ttp://www.themontserratreporter.com/cfu-football-comes-to-montserrat/

[4] "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2013-12-07.

[5] "CNNSI.com – CNNSI.com's complete coverage of the FIFA World Cup – Bhutan routs Montserrat in 'other final' – Sunday June 30, 2002 05:39 AM". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 2002-06-30. Retrieved 2013-12-07.

International association football
FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Cup U-20 U-17 Confederations Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings The Best FIFA Football Awards Timeline of association football Comparison of association football and futsal
Africa	CAF – Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 Regional (CECAFA, CEMAC, COSAFA, WAFU) Intercontinental (UAFA)
Asia	AFC – Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Regional (ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, CAFA, WAFF) Intercontinental (UAFA)
Europe	UEFA – European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 Nations League
North America, Central America and the Caribbean	CONCACAF – Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15 Nations League Regional (CFU, UNCAF)
Oceania	OFC – Nations Cup U-19 U-17
South America	CONMEBOL – Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15
Non-FIFA	NF-Board – Viva World Cup CONIFA – ConIFA World Football Cup ConIFA European Football Cup IIGA – Island Games
Games	African Games Asian Games Central America Central America and Caribbean East Asian Games Francophonie Games Indian Ocean Island Lusophony Games Mediterranean Games Pan American Games Pan Arab Games Pacific Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games West Asian Games
See also Geography Codes Player/Club of the Century Women's football

National football teams of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean (CONCACAF)
North America	Canada Mexico United States
Central America	Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama
Caribbean	Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Bermuda¹ Bonaire³ British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Cuba Curaçao Dominica Dominican Republic French Guiana^{2 3} Grenada Guadeloupe³ Guyana² Haiti Jamaica Martinique³ Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Martin³ Sint Maarten³ Suriname² Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands U.S. Virgin Islands
Defunct	Netherlands Antilles
1: Inside the North American zone, but CFU member. 2: South American country, but affiliated to CONCACAF and CFU. 3: Full or associate CONCACAF member, but non-FIFA member.