Belize national football team

Belize
Nickname(s)	The Jaguars; The Unbelizeables
Association	Football Federation of Belize
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation	UNCAF (Central America)
Head coach	Dale Pelayo Sr.
Captain	Ian Gaynair
Most caps	Elroy Smith (61)
Top scorer	Deon McCaulay (27)
Home stadium	FFB Field
FIFA code	BLZ
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	169 1 (12 August 2021)
Highest	114 (April–June 2016)
Lowest	201 (November 2007 – January 2008)
First international
	British Honduras 1–0 Honduras ; (British Honduras; February 19, 1928); as Belize; El Salvador 3–0 Belize ; (San Salvador, El Salvador; November 29, 1995)
Biggest win
	Belize 7–1 Nicaragua ; (Belize City, Belize; April 17, 2002)
Biggest defeat
	Costa Rica 7–0 Belize ; (San José, Costa Rica; March 17, 1999) ; Mexico 7–0 Belize ; (Monterrey, Mexico; June 21, 2008)
Gold Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2013)
Best result	Group stage (2013)

The Belize national football team represents Belize in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belize, a member of the Central American Football Union of CONCACAF.

Although Belize has never qualified for a FIFA World Cup tournament, it has once qualified for a CONCACAF Gold Cup championship in 2013, in which they were eliminated in the group stage. Belize has also competed in the sub-regional Central American Cup championship in which their best result was fourth place in 2013. The nickname for the players of the national team is the "Jaguars".

History[]

Overview[]

Named British Honduras whilst under British colonial rule, the country's first international game came on February 19, 1928, beating Honduras 1–0. Following independence, Belize's first game came on December 8, 1983, in a 2–0 loss against Canada in Belize.^[3] Although Belize gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1981 (and many of the UK's current colonies have international teams), Belize did not begin to regularly play international football until 1995. It made its debut at the 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup and was eliminated in the first round after losing to El Salvador and Costa Rica.

Belize has never qualified for the World Cup but finished fourth in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana. Their fourth-place finish in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana gave Belize its first qualification to a major international competition, that being the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

June 2011 suspension by FIFA[]

On June 15, 2011, Belize kicked off its 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign against minnows Montserrat, winning 2–5 away in a match played in the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad. However, the return which was scheduled for June 19 was postponed by FIFA when they suspended the FFB due to governmental interference.^[4]

Stadium[]

FFB Field in Belmopan is the home stadium for the Belize national football team. Prior to this stadium, Belize had no facilities that met FIFA specifications. Apart from this Belize has many fields to play on but with no facilities for the players.

Schedule and recent results[]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Win Draw Loss

2021[]

March 25 WC 1st Round Qualifying	Haiti	2–0	Belize	showPort-au-Prince, Haiti
17:00	Adé 50' Séance 81'	Report		Stadium: Stade Sylvio Cator Referee: Walter López Castellanos (Guatemala)

March 30 WC 1st Round Qualifying	Belize	5–0	Turks and Caicos Islands	showSan Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
17:00 UTC−4	Bernárdez 45+3', 48' August 47' Nembhard 81' McCaulay 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Panamericano Referee: Nima Saghafi (United States)

June 4 WC 1st Round Qualifying	Nicaragua	3–0	Belize	showManagua, Nicaragua
19:00 UTC−6	Rodríguez 25' Bonilla 46' Barrera 51'	Report		Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium Referee: Nelson Salgado (Honduras)

Coaching staff[]

Name	Nat	Position
Dale Pelayo Sr.		Head coach
		Technical director
		Technical director
		Assistant Head coach
		Assistant Head coach
		Goalkeeping coach
		Physical Trainer
		Physiotherapist

Coaching history[]

Since the creation of the national team in 1995, several coaches have been in charge of managing Belize. From 1995 to 1996, was appointed as Belize's first ever manager. As of January 2012, the Belize national football team has had 11 managers.

showManager	Period in charge	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
	1995–1996	4	0	0	4	000.0
Manuel Bilches	1999–2000	6	0	1	5	000.0
Leroy Sherrier Lewis	2001	5	3	1	1	060.0
Eduardo Santana	2003	0	0	0	0	!—
Anthony Adderly	2003–2006	5	0	0	5	000.0
Antonio Carlos Vieira	2006–2007	3	0	0	3	000.0
Palmiro Salas	2008	2	1	0	1	050.0
Ian Mork	2008	4	0	1	3	000.0
	2008–2009	3	0	1	2	000.0
José de la Paz Herrera	2010–2012	7	2	2	3	028.6
Leroy Sherrier Lewis	2012–2013	5	1	1	3	020.0
Charlie Slusher	2013	1	0	1	0	000.0
Ian Mork	2013–2014	4	0	1	3	000.0
Leroy Sherrier Lewis	2014–2015	3	0	0	3	000.0
Jorge Nunez	2015–2016	4	2	2	0	050.0
Richard Orlowski	2016–2018	5	0	1	4	000.0
Palmiro Salas	2018-2019	6	3	1	2	050.0
Vincenzo Alberto Annese	2019-2020	6	2	1	3	033.3
Dale Pelayo Sr.	2020–present	0	0	0	0	!—

Players[]

Current squad[]

The following players were called up for the training camp prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification - CONCACAF First Round match against Nicaragua on 4 June 2021.^[5]

Caps and goals updated as of 4 June 2021, after the game against Nicaragua.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
-	1GK	Woodrow West	(1985-09-19) 19 September 1985 (age 35)	42	0	Verdes FC
1	1GK		(2001-07-29) 29 July 2001 (age 20)	1	0	Verdes FC
12	1GK		(2003-01-25) 25 January 2003 (age 18)	0	0

7	2DF	Ian Gaynair	(1986-02-26) 26 February 1986 (age 35)	56	2	Belmopan Bandits
-	2DF	Evral Trapp	(1987-01-22) 22 January 1987 (age 34)	36	0	Verdes FC
3	2DF	Norman Anderson	(1997-01-25) 25 January 1997 (age 24)	8	0	Verdes FC
-	2DF	Collin Westby	(1995-02-19) 19 February 1995 (age 26)	4	0	Verdes FC
-	2DF	Asrel Sutherland	(1993-03-08) 8 March 1993 (age 28)	3	0	San Pedro Pirates FC
8	2DF	Deshawon Nembhard	(1994-10-08) 8 October 1994 (age 26)	3	1	Charleston Battery
-	2DF		(1995-02-13) 13 February 1995 (age 26)	1	0	Altitude FC
6	2DF		(2004-04-30) 30 April 2004 (age 17)	1	0	San Pedro Pirates FC
23	2DF		(1999-09-27) 27 September 1999 (age 21)	1	0	Wagiya SC

-	3MF	Andrés Makin	(1992-04-11) 11 April 1992 (age 29)	25	0	Belmopan Bandits
15	3MF	Denmark Casey Jr.	(1994-01-14) 14 January 1994 (age 27)	20	1	Verdes FC
21	3MF	Nana Mensah	(1989-01-19) 19 January 1989 (age 32)	19	0	Michigan Stars FC
16	3MF	Jordy Polanco	(1996-06-08) 8 June 1996 (age 25)	15	0	Verdes FC
-	3MF	Nahjib Guerra	(1994-08-18) 18 August 1994 (age 27)	10	0	Verdes FC
5	3MF	Ean Lewis	(1991-02-25) 25 February 1991 (age 30)	5	1	Belize Defence Force FC
-	3MF	Tony Rocha	(1993-08-21) 21 August 1993 (age 28)	3	0	New York City FC
17	3MF		(1993-12-15) 15 December 1993 (age 27)	3	0	Verdes FC
-	3MF	Angelo Capello	(2002-01-27) 27 January 2002 (age 19)	2	0	Sheffield United U23s
-	3MF		(1991-11-24) 24 November 1991 (age 29)	1	0	San Pedro Pirates FC
13	3MF		(1999-12-27) 27 December 1999 (age 21)	1	0	Verdes FC
14	3MF		(2001-08-29) 29 August 2001 (age 20)	0	0	Belmopan Bandits

9	4FW	Deon McCaulay (captain)	(1987-09-20) 20 September 1987 (age 33)	56	27	Georgia Revolution
-	4FW	Michael Salazar	(1992-11-15) 15 November 1992 (age 28)	15	2	Memphis 901 FC
20	4FW	Krisean Lopez	(1998-11-02) 2 November 1998 (age 22)	13	3	Verdes FC
-	4FW	Carlos Bernárdez	(1992-12-28) 28 December 1992 (age 28)	6	2	Platense
19	4FW		(1993-09-07) 7 September 1993 (age 27)	4	0	Wagiya SC
-	4FW	Jesse August	(1994-01-22) 22 January 1994 (age 27)	2	1	Altitude FC
-	4FW		(1997-08-31) 31 August 1997 (age 24)	1	0	Belize Defence Force FC
-	4FW		(1999-12-11) 11 December 1999 (age 21)	0	0	Wagiya SC
-	4FW		(1999-07-27) 27 July 1999 (age 22)	0	0	Belmopan Bandits

Recent call-ups[]

The following players have been called up within the past 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK		(1990-05-02) 2 May 1990 (age 31)	0	0	Police United FC	v. Turks & Caicos Islands; 30 March, 2021

DF	Mike Atkinson	(1994-12-02) 2 December 1994 (age 26)	6	0	North Leigh	v. Turks & Caicos Islands; 30 March, 2021

MF	Johny El Zein	(1992-03-24) 24 March 1992 (age 29)	0	0	Aris Limassol	v. Turks & Caicos Islands; 30 March, 2021

Records[]

As of 30 March 2021

Players in bold text are still active with Belize.

Most Caps
Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Elroy Smith	61	6	2004–2019
2	Ian Gaynair	56	2	2007–present
2	Deon McCaulay	56	27	2007–present
4	Woodrow West	42	0	2008–present
5	Dalton Eiley	41	0	2005–2019
5	Daniel Jiménez	41	2	2008–present
7	Harrison Róchez	40	5	2004–2019
8	Trevor Lennen	37	1	2005–2019
9	Evral Trapp	36	0	2005–present
10	Elroy Kuylen	33	6	2009–present

Top Goalscorers
Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Deon McCaulay	27	56	0.48	2007–present
2	Elroy Kuylen	6	33	0.18	2009–present
2	Elroy Smith	6	61	0.1	2004–2019
4	Dion Frazer	5	8	0.63	2000–2008
4	Harrison Róchez	5	40	0.13	2004–2019
6	Norman Nuñez	3	11	0.27	1995–2005
	Krisean Lopez	3	13	0.23	2018–present
	Vallan Symms	3	20	0.15	2000–2011
9		2	2	1	2000–2002
	Carlos Bernárdez	2	6	0.33	2019–present
		2	6	0.33	1999–2001
		2	6	0.33	1995–1997
	Michael Salazar	2	15	0.13	2013–present
	Daniel Jiménez	2	41	0.05	2008–present
	Ian Gaynair	2	56	0.04	2007–present

Competition records[]

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								Declined participation
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998	Did not qualify								2	0	0	2	2	6
2002									4	0	1	3	2	10
2006									2	0	0	2	0	8
2010									4	1	1	2	4	11
2014									8	4	1	3	17	13
2018									6	2	3	1	7	6
2022									3	1	0	2	5	5
2026	To be determined								To be determined
Total		0/22							29	8	6	15	37	59

Gold Cup record[]

CONCACAF Gold Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991 to 1993	Did not exist
1996 to 2002	Did not qualify
2003	Did not enter
2005 to 2011	Did not qualify
2013	Group stage	12th	3	0	0	3	1	11
2015	Did not qualify
2017
2019
2021
Total	Group stage	1/16	3	0	0	3	1	11

CONCACAF Nations League[]

CONCACAF Nations League record
Year	Division	Group	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	P/R	Rank
2019−20	B	A	6	2	0	4	6	12		24th
2022–23	B	To be determined
Total			6	2	0	4	6	12	24th

Copa Centroamericana[]

Copa Centroamericana record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	Did not exist
1993	Did not exist
1995	Group Stage	6th	2	0	0	2	1	5
1997	Preliminary	7th	2	0	1	1	1	2
1999	Group Stage	6th	2	0	0	2	1	12
2001	Group Stage	6th	2	0	1	1	3	7
2003	Did not enter
2005	Group Stage	7th	3	0	0	3	0	7
2007	Group Stage	7th	3	0	0	3	3	7
2009	Group Stage	7th	3	0	1	2	3	7
2011	Group Stage	7th	3	0	1	2	3	8
2013	Fourth Place	4th	5	1	1	3	2	4
2014	Group Stage	7th	3	0	0	3	1	6
2017	Group Stage	6th	5	0	1	4	2	10
Total	Fourth Place	10/13	30	1	6	23	19	69

The 1995 tournament in El Salvador saw Belize's international debut. They played the hosts in their first-ever international on November 29 in Group A. El Salvador won 3–0 with all goals coming in the second half.^[6] On December 1, Belize scored their first-ever international goal as they lost 2–1 to Costa Rica and were eliminated from the tournament. Both other teams advanced to the semi-finals and were defeated there, Costa Rica's conqueror Honduras beat Guatemala in the final.

References[]

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. August 28, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Belize". Elo Ratings. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
^ Suspension of the Football Federation of Belize – FIFA
^ "Belize Men's National Football Team starts training to face Nicaragua in June in WC qualifier". Breaking Belize News.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links[]

Football Federation of Belize official website
Belize at FIFA.com
Official Instagram

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. August 28, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2021.

[3] "World Football Elo Ratings: Belize". Elo Ratings. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

[4] Suspension of the Football Federation of Belize – FIFA

[5] "Belize Men's National Football Team starts training to face Nicaragua in June in WC qualifier". Breaking Belize News.

[6] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[1]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

show v t Belize national football team
General	Football Federation of Belize History Managers
Venues	FFB Stadium
Players	Player category Records
Performances	CONCACAF Gold Cup
Other Belizean teams	U20 Women's

show v t 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.

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