Captain America Crushed Our Dreams

[EvilDave]

It wasn’t so much the fact that we’d lost that rankled. It was more the celebrations that did it. They were over-the-top in a way that endeared them to nobody, whooping and hollering as if they’d achieved something far greater. In reality, all they’d done was drag themselves out of a hole entirely of their own making.  They hadn’t even met their own minimum expectations yet. Without hammering home the point, it was all very American of them.

Truth be told, we were never supposed to be at the tournament to begin. Grenada had only been to three Gold Cups in history, and finished with the worst record of everyone in their most recent attempt two years ago. We’d been underdogs for the vast majority of the time, and it had been cause for national celebration when we even made it to the draw.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, it’s very rude of me. Who even am I? What are we talking about? Both are good questions.

I’m Theodore Parker, but you can go ahead and call me Theo – everyone else does. I’m the manager of the Grenada national football team, the not-quite-world-famous Spice Boys, and have been ever since that 2021 Gold Cup, when I replaced Michael Findlay. You’ll notice I don’t sound local, and you’d be right – in fact, I’d only ever been to Grenada twice before signing my contract. The second time was to check out the facilities, but the first was to visit an old friend of mine who happened to be instrumental in me landing this job.

You see, I first met Stewart Bramley in Cornwall, when the old boy was sailing his boat off the coast. I was there doing much the same, and we ended up talking. Turns out, he used to be a footballer himself – Scunthorpe and Plymouth, to be precise – and when I told him I’d been in the same game, he was thrilled. We’d played at a similar level but 30 years apart, and whereas he’d made his debut for the Iron in the mid-60s, I turned out for Southend, Brighton and Gillingham in the 90s before hanging up my boots at the turn of the millennium.

I’d coached a bit too, staying on with the Gills and then helping out around the South Coast – back to Brighton, on to Bournemouth, even managing Dorchester and Poole for a season or two each. But eventually I moved on, preferring to spend my time on the water than the training pitch, and I grew content as a fan in the stands instead of trying to shape things from the sidelines. I had my badges and I’d never say never, but I’d never planned a comeback.

Even when I went to see Stew in the Caribbean, that hadn’t been the plan. Through one connection or other, the lucky so-and-so had managed to get himself made Honorary Consul to Grenada with UK Trade & Investments, which as far as I could tell was a largely ceremonial role in which he did not a lot and kept himself nice and tanned. At its hardest it was a semi-official ambassadorial role, and its easiest it was nothing more than a title. As such, it was no problem for him to take a couple of weeks to play host for my holiday, and a fine fortnight it was too.

The second time came hot on the heels of Findlay’s departure and a largely out-of-the-blue phone call from Mr Bramley a couple of days later. I had my badges after all, I was a football man, and there was hardly any pressure. Why not give it a go?

I’ll admit, it wasn’t the first thing I’d thought about doing, a significant career change in my mid-50s with a successful sailing school to my name. On the other hand, I could easily pass over the day-to-day running of things, and once you’re in football you’re never really out of it. A short turn in the Caribbean, maybe longer if it worked out – why not at least speak to the FA?

So I did precisely that, and it became immediately apparent that Stewart was doing them a favour in sending me their way. There was no queue of young Grenadian managers lining up to take the job, they liked the idea of an Englishman with lower league experience coming in to work with what was, with all due respect, a limited squad of players. I signed on for two years, was quickly set up in a spacious St George’s apartment, and so the work began.

[EvilDave]

With the island’s population hovering at around 125,000, and with cricket being the primary sport as in many Caribbean nation, I was never going to be blessed with a team of world beaters. The island’s most famous sportsman is probably Kirani James – 400m gold medallist at the 2012 Olympics, the nation’s only Olympic medallist, and the man after whom our national stadium is named – while our most-capped football is one Cassim Langaigne, a tough tackler who is still playing in his 40s for his one and only club, Hurricanes of the domestic league. Ricky Charles, the all-time top scorer with 37, did manage to make it out of the country – but only to Trinidad and the US minor leagues. Footballers were not high on our list of exports.

But in CONCACAF, everybody has a chance. Sort of. Qualifying for Qatar was already out of the question – we’d been long knocked out before my arrival – but the Gold Cup was another matter. We would be competing for one of 16 spots rather than the final six of World Cup qualification, and even with the usual suspects accounted for – USA, Mexico, Canada, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras – that left plenty of places for little island nations such as our own.

To get there, we’d have to go through the Nations League. Last time round Grenada had been promoted to League A, meaning we’d be in with the big boys. As bottom seeds, we landed in a group with Mexico and El Salvador, and as you might imagine, we didn’t really stand a chance. Mexico won all four of their games comfortably, and while we managed to hold El Salvador goalless in St George’s, we went down 2-0 in San Salvador to consign us to bottom of the group and relegation to League B. So far, so expected.

But our Gold Cup adventure wasn’t over yet. In the Nations League A, the top two in each group of three qualified for the Gold Cup – so Mexico and El Salvador, USA and Jamaica, Canada and Curacao, Costa Rica and Honduras were all in, along with guest nation Qatar. So were the League B group winners – Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Cuba and Guadeloupe. So 13 spots taken.

You’ll notice that leaves three. Three that would be decided in another mini-league set-up – this time three groups of three teams – one each from the teams finishing bottom of their League A groups, the League B runners-up, and League C winners. Still following? It took me a while. The long and the short of it meant that we ended up in a group with Bermuda and Aruba, and we were comfortably the best of that trio. Undefeated, and into the Gold Cup we went. At last.

The draw gave me and the FA delegation the opportunity for a couple of days in Miami, where the great and the good of CONCACAF held their grand meeting. After what seemed like an eternity of presentations, celebrations and congratulations, the draw itself finally got underway. From the third pot of seeds, we were drawn in Group C, with the competition looking as follows:

Group A: Mexico, Curacao, Guadeloupe, Nicaragua
Group B: USA, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti
Group C: Canada, El Salvador, Grenada, Martinique
Group D: Costa Rica, Honduras, Cuba, Qatar

It meant another meeting with El Salvador, but it was hard to be disappointed with the outcome. We’d dodged Mexico and the US, avoided an even-looking Group B, and evaded the wildcards of Qatar in the final foursome. Canada were probably the most beatable of the top seeds, we stood a chance against El Salvador, and Martinique were the lowest-ranked team in the competition aside from Cuba. What I had to remember – and what FA President Cheney Joseph helpfully reminded me as we headed out at the end of the night – was that everyone else in the group was probably pretty happy to see us there too. Whoever we’d ended up with, it would have been a fight.

Edited September 25, 2022 by EvilDave

[EvilDave]

Before our opener against Canada we would have two friendlies to tune the squad up, the first a send-off game to St Lucia and the second a tougher test in Houston against Guatemala, who had missed out on qualification. Before then however, there was the small matter of selecting the squad itself – the 23 men who would travel to the US and represent this small, beautiful island nation. After much deliberation, I submitted the following side to CONCACAF:

Goalkeepers
Our goalkeepers were expected to be busy, and so the men between the sticks would need to be on their toes. My number one for the tournament was Reice Charles-Cook, a former Arsenal trainee turned lower league journeyman in England. Now 29, he’d only just taken over as first choice, and the Bromley man was a good stopper for our level. He’d supplanted the veteran Jason Belfon - of Grenadian side Paradise - who would now back him up, while third choice would be 20-year old Trishawn Thomas, a promising youngster who I’d given a debut to before our final qualifiers. He had promise, but this was probably a cycle or two too soon for him.

Defenders
So far with Grenada, I’d employed a wingback system that could reasonably be labelled a 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 depending on how you viewed it – in desperate situations it could even become a 5-4-1 – but whichever way it played, we’d need a strong defensive line. Without decent protection for Charles-Cook in goal, we’d be suffering.

My starting back three were likely to 19-year-old QPR youngster Kayden Harrack, Leyton Orient’s Omar Beckles, and Aaron Pierre of Shrewsbury Town. All based in England, central defence was one of our strongest areas on the field – Pierre would captain the side, Beckles was towering in the air, and Harrack brought pace along with considerable potential. Behind them in the squad and ready to fill in were 35-year-old Tyron Sterling, able to play anywhere along the back line, and Peachtree City’s Kwesi Paul – both men were a step behind the starting trio, but decent depth for the task at hand.

Holding down the right wing-back spot was another man plying his trade in the States, 20-year-old Benjamin Ettienne. He’d already reached double figures for caps despite his youth, and while he was more accustomed to life in a back four at club level, he had the stamina to lock down the right flank for us. Sterling would fill in here if necessary, but we needed Ettienne fit to hold the system together.

On the other side, AJ Patterson of Charleston Battery would be the starter at left wing-back, and if necessary had the versatility to step into the centre as well. We had two backup options here, and very different ones to boot – the flexible veteran Sterling on the one hand, and Kharlton Belmar on the other. Belmar, 29 years old and another man playing in the US, was a winger by trade, but offered us a more attacking option down the left and allowed us to operate in an asymmetrical fashion if required.

Midfielders
The plan for midfield, without wishing to amuse you all, was the replicate the way Manchester City’s midfield three operate under Pep Guardiola. Obviously I’m well aware that we need to be a little less ambitious given the gulf of talent between our two sides, but the idea was there – a lone pivot available to break up play, receive the ball from defence and progress it, a box-to-box yet creative type on the left of the centre, and a De Bruyne-style ‘free eight’ on the right with a lot of creative responsibility. That was the idea.

In the ‘Rodri’ role we had a straight fight for the start. Alexander McQueen, a two-footed 28-year-old who had taken in England, Finland and the US in a diverse career, and could also slot in at wing-back if required, was probably our first choice to begin with. Hot on his heels was a 17-year-old star of the future, Charles Atkinson, who we had capped early after his emergence from the Charlton Athletic youth system. If the Gold Cup was in two years’ time he’d be a shoe-in, but while he was already a physical powerhouse, he was a little tactically naïve at the moment. In case McQueen was needed elsewhere and Atkinson wasn’t quite ready, we used a spare spot on a third man here – Steffon Abraham, 23 and of Grenadian Premier League outfit Paradise. He’d never be a worldbeater, but in a pinch he’d do the job.

In the left central ‘Gundogan/Bernardo’ spot, Ollie Norburn was our main man. Now 30, he’d been late to commit to the nation of his grandfather, but after debuting at the last Gold Cup, the Peterborough man was one of most technically capable players and was a key piece of the puzzle. His backup was a solid option too in the form of Ashley Charles. A product of Watford’s academy and now a regular for Barnet in the National League, at 24 he’d firmly established himself in the squad, and while being a slight drop in quality from Norburn, he had undoubted quality.

The right-sided ‘De Bruyne’ role was obviously one of the tougher roles to fill, but we had an ace in our pack here. Marcus Francis was only 18, but after graduating at Fulham had already shone on loan at League One Cambridge as their main creative force. In a competition with much bigger teams than our own, he’d been picked out as ‘one to watch’ in a number of previews, and was undoubtedly our star man. Deputising for him was Kwazim Theodore, a 27-year-old at Dunstable Town who was a decent enough player in his own right, but some way off the talent of Francis.

Strikers
Up front we had probably the widest pool of talent without an obvious standout, and there would be a great deal of jostling and competition for the two starting spots. We had different shapes of striker, and I hoped that would be an advantage as the tournament unfolded.

Probably top of the list at the moment was Jamal Charles, who had earned the spot courtesy of 18 goals in his 34 caps so far. He’d started his career in midfield before emerging as a lethal deeper forward, and at 27 had been scoring for a few years in leagues across Central America. Another converted player would likely partner him at first in the form of Regan Charles-Cook, 26-year-old brother of goalkeeper Reice. A fellow Arsenal graduate, his career path had taken him from the wing at Charlton and Gillingham to leading the line for Ross County and Belgian outfit Eupen. The hope was for him to use his pace to exploit the gaps created by Charles’ movement, and it had worked well for us in qualification.

Kairo Mitchell offered us another option with his physicality up front, the 25-year-old Notts County man providing pace as well as strength in an old-school target man role for others to feed off. Saydrel Lewis of Honduras’ Real Juventud offered us pace and movement with his inclination to drift out to the right wing, while our fifth striker – and indeed the final man in the squad – was Canadian-born El Paso striker Shavon John-Brown. He was another one who preferred to come deep, and come slot into an attacking midfield slot if necessary, giving us the tactical flexibility we’d need to succeed.

They were the 23 men tasked with taking little Grenada to Gold Cup glory – or just go as far as we could. Our strengths were undoubtedly our depth at centre back and midfield quality in the form of Norburn and Francis. On the other hand, we were a little light in specialist wing-back qualities, and our forwards were versatile but perhaps a little limited. We’d been seeded third for the group, and very few were expecting us to pull up any trees in the States. It was our job to prove them wrong.

Edited September 25, 2022 by EvilDave

[EvilDave]

At home to St Lucia, I chose to give some of the players on the edge got a chance to stake their claims – an hour for what I’d determined would be the second string, and then 30 minutes for my half dozen substitutes to bolster their fitness. Our visitors hadn’t made it to the Gold Cup and hadn’t got particularly close, and the gulf in quality showed on the field. Even with the backups on the field we were clearly a cut above, cruising out to a 3-0 lead courtesy of Atkinson, Lewis and Sterling, before Jamal Charles came off the bench to bag a brace in his half hour run-out. It was precisely the confidence boost we needed before leaving for America, and morale was excellent going into the final friendly.

Against Guatemala in Houston, the starters were back. Charles-Cook in goal, Patterson and Ettienne on the left and right respectively of a back three of Harrack, Pierre and Beckles, McQueen sitting behind Norburn and Francis in the middle, and a Charles/Charles-Cook pairing up front. Guatemala were one of the better CONCACAF sides not to qualify for this year’s competition, and as well as giving our first choice team a run-out, we would also have to give them plenty of respect.

That became apparent when Alejandro Galindo broke through to give Guatemala the lead just seven minutes in, and I begin to wonder exactly what we were letting ourselves in for at the Gold Cup. However, a superb through-ball from Francis sent Charles through for the equaliser less than five minutes later, and by the time the half-time whistle blew we’d taken the lead, Benjamin Ettienne finding space down the right to whip in a superb cross for Norburn to tap in at the far post after making a late run.

In the second half, the game lost a little of its rhythm as both I and Luis Fernando Tena made our maximum allotted substitutions, but there was still time for another goal. Alexander McQueen made this one, shuffled out to the right wing-back spot as we protected Ettienne, this time cutting inside and sliding a pass through for fellow replacement Regan Charles-Cook to lash beyond the Guatemalan goalkeeper. In injury time his brother Reice was called into action to tip a Marvin Ceballos shot onto the post, and that was that. Two friendlies, two wins, and we were heading into the Gold Cup in as good a form as I could have hoped for. Canada would be a much tougher challenge, but we were confident we could rise to it.

Gold Cup Group C Matchday 1 – Canada vs Grenada
Lineup (5-3-2): Charles-Cook; Ettienne, Beckles, Pierre ©, Harrack, Patterson; Francis, McQueen, Norburn; Charles, Charles-Cook

There’s something about hearing your national anthem at a big tournament that can’t help but inspire you – and it wasn’t even my anthem. After the team photos, the singing and the handshakes, we were up and running in little Grenada’s fourth ever Gold Cup. Canada, on the other hand, had only missed two CONCACAF competitions since they started entering in the 1970s, were the only team not named USA or Mexico to win after their victory in 2000, and had made the final four last time round. John Herdman had the current crop up to 39 in the FIFA World Rankings, and they had players worth tens of millions of pounds in their line-up. We were ranked 146, and most of our players had never moved for a fee. We were up against it.

As if to emphasise the gulf in class, we were under pressure right from the whistle. Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies received a pass and raced straight through our midfield, only to be chopped down on the edge of the area by Omar Beckles. Newcastle United’s new striker Jonathan David stepped up to take the free-kick, and promptly crashed his shot off the crossbar with Charles-Cook comfortably beaten. We had been warned.

We barely got out of our half for the first 25 minutes, and when we did it spelled disaster. Norburn tried to turn Davies when the simple pass to Francis was available, and their star man stuck out a telescopic leg to win possession. His ball found Junior Hoilett in space on the wing, and the veteran beat Patterson before firing a low cross along the six-yard line. We did an excellent job of marking David, but contrived to leave Cyle Larin with plenty of space at the near post, and a simple flick turned the ball past a diving Charles-Cook. The Canadians celebrated, and we could hardly complain at being behind.

Despite having to chase the game we were not really able to get going, despite the best efforts of young Francis in midfield. His chipped ball into Charles on the edge of the box was delightful, but a heavy touch meant it was all too simple for the Canadian defence to clear their lines. Just a few minutes later, Stephen Eustaquio sent David through on goal to double his side’s lead, only for a delayed offside flag to halt the celebrations. Kayden Harrack had managed to step out just in time, and we kept the score at 1-0 going in at the break.

In a bid to try and get our attack going, I made two changes at the break. Kharlton Belmar took the place of Patterson at left wing-back as a more attacking option, while John-Brown swapped was swapped in for Jamal Charles up front as we hoped to better link midfield with our forwards. Within a few minutes of the restart and before the Canadians could fully adjust to our new setup, the move worked well – Belmar torched his man for pace on the outside, whipped in a cross, and then watched as Charles-Cook could only nod his header wide. It was comfortably our best effort of the match, and looked promising for the rest of the game.

But Canada were no mugs, and they quickly adjusted to take into account our new focus on the left flank. Before long Belmar was struggling to find any space, and our opponents smothered our build-up play. Two minutes before the hour mark, an ambitious attempt at a crossfield switch was easily cut out in midfield, Davies found David, and his rasping shot from the edge of the penalty area left Reece-Cook clawing at thin air. At 2-0, it was hard to see how we were getting anything out of this one.

Canada seemed to agree, and after a couple of substitutions it was clear that they were content to hold what they had, shifting back down through the gears in a bid to preserve energy. We almost caught them out on one occasion, Francis sending a swerving shot on goal from 25 yards that had Milan Borjan scrambling to see wide, but we couldn’t get through what was a very disciplined Canadian defence.

They were not just sitting back however, and in the final few minutes turned on the style. A quick passing move cut our midfield out of the game, and substitute Lucas Cavallini twisted his way past Harrack into the area. Pierre was across to cover but could only trip the Vancouver Whitecaps striker, and the penalty was an obvious one. Cavallini stepped up to take the spot-kick himself, but mercifully dragged it wide to keep the score respectable. We hadn’t disgraced ourselves, but we’d barely laid a finger on our opponents.

Canada 2-0 Grenada (Larin 27, David 58, Cavallini m/pen 87)

[EvilDave]

When you’re only playing three games in a group stage, losing your first is never ideal – that much is obvious. But then again, we were never expecting to come here and win the group outright, as Canada were always going to do that. Yes, we’d been beaten in the Dallas sunshine, but we’d limited them to two, and our fate was far more likely to be determined by our other two games anyway. While Canada had put two past us, El Salvador had scraped past Martinique 2-1 to give them the early advantage in the race for the second qualification spot, but it would be their turn to take on the Canadians next as we went up against Martinique.

Despite being the fourth seeds in the group, we could afford to underestimate the so-called minnows. After all, we were hardly sharks ourselves. The French Caribbean territory were competing in their seventh Gold Cup as compared to our fourth, and back in 2002 had made it to the quarter-finals, defeating Trinidad and Tobago before losing on penalties to Canada. The current crop hadn’t got out of the group in 2021, but they’d more than earned their place at the tournament and would not be easy opposition.

However, I also knew that fitness would be a key component of any success we had, especially with a potentially decisive game against El Salvador still to come. I couldn’t expect the first choice starters play three full matches in eight days and expect them to perform to the best of their ability, so there would need to be some rotation against Martinique. Not everybody would get a rest – it would be foolish to send in a completely changed team – but some of the selections would almost certainly raise some eyebrows. It was simply the nature of the game.

Gold Cup Group C Matchday 2 – Grenada vs Martinique
Lineup (3-5-2): Charles-Cook; Paul, Sterling ©, Harrack; Ettienne, Francis, Atkinson, Norburn, Belmar; Charles, Mitchell

In the end I settled for five changes for the clash with Martinique in Arlington, with most of them defensive. Only Kayden Harrack and Benjamin Ettienne kept their places of the back five that began against Canada, while 17-year-old Atkinson got the nod over McQueen in the holding role. Up front, Kairo Mitchell came in for Reece-Cook with the intention of using his strength to cause havoc and bully the opposing defence.

It was a ploy that didn’t seem to be working in the opening moments, but not because of any failings on our part. Rather, Martinique seemed determined not to let us get the ball into our two strikers, repeatedly fouling in the midfield to break down any sort of free-flowing play. Before the stadium clock got to double figures they had two men in the American referee’s notebook, and their defence was quickly positioning itself on a tightrope for the rest of the game.

It was perhaps fitting that we then took the lead from a set-piece. A deep free-kick was curled into the box by Francis, goalkeeper Yannis Clementia came through a crowd of bodies to punch clear, but was powerless as the ball fell to Norburn 20 yards out. He took a touch, looked up and lifted a deft finish over the mass of bodies and into the unguarded net, handing us an early lead that we would look to build on. My players celebrated with a co-ordinated dance routine, and it took a lot of restraint not to join in with them.

We couldn’t get ahead of ourselves though – Martinique were a decent side when they decided to stop kicking people and play football. Veteran midfielder Stephane Abaul curled one wide of Reece-Cook’s goal shortly after the opener, and was clearly capable of pulling the strings if we allowed him to. Atkinson was instructed to get closer to him, and the tactical adjustment almost paid immediate dividends, a wayward pass picked off by Belmar leading to a shot from Mitchell that Clementia had to push away.

Belmar was thriving in the more advanced wing-back role out on the left, and while Martinique became increasingly worried about his influence, that opened up spaces elsewhere that we tried to take advantage of. Ettienne on the other flank saw a rising drive sail just over the bar from 20 yards out, but on the stroke of half-time we doubled our advantage. A double-marked Belmar fed Francis, our teen star split the centre-backs with a fine pass, and Jamal Charles made no mistake with just the keeper to beat.

It was the perfect end to an impressive 45 minutes of football, and we headed out into the second period as a confident, unchanged team. Martinique made a single change up front as to avoid risking to a knock, but otherwise the pattern of the game continued in much the same vein. We controlled possession and looked to find openings where we could, while Martinique looked to strike on the break and threaten that way.

The next goal was going to be crucial, and happily it fell our way in the simplest of manners. With no options to play short, Reece-Cook launched a clearance downfield, where Mitchell beat his man to flick a header into space behind. Anticipating the flight of the ball was Jamal Charles, who slipped the ball under Clementia for the third.

That was the signal for changes to be made, and I wasted no time in protecting some of our more indispensable talents. Beckles replaced Ettienne and moved into the centre of defence with Sterling heading to the right, Kwazim Theodore came in for Marcus Francis in central midfield, and two-goal hero Charles was denied his shot at a hat-trick, rested and replaced with Shavon John-Brown up front. We had El Salvador to be thinking about after all.

We were thinking about El Salvador, Martinique knew they were heading home, and so the final quarter of the match petered out a little, with no urgency from either side. However, there was still time for my Spice Boys to ice the victory cake, and they did it in style. Belmar fizzed a low ball into the feet of Mitchell, he flicked it with the outside of his boot to Norburn, and the scorer of our first goal knocked it neatly into the path of substitute John-Brown for an arrowed first-time finish. Job done, points secured, and we were alive in the Gold Cup.

Grenada 4-0 Martinique (Norburn 14, Charles 44, 62, John-Brown 82)

Edited September 29, 2022 by EvilDave

[oche balboa]

Great stuff - keep up the good work 

[EvilDave]

Thanks oche - glad you're enjoying the tale!
--

While we’d been winning a surprisingly one-sided affair against Martinique, over in Houston it’d been a much tighter affair altogether. An early Jonathan David goal proved enough to see Canada edge to a 1-0 win over El Salvador, and what that meant was that going into our final game with the Central Americans, our fate was in our own hands.

Canada were home and hosed, six points from two games assuring them of top spot in the group. Martinique, with two defeats under their belts, were pointless and bound for home. However, our big win over the French territory meant that we held a goal difference advantage over El Salvador, sitting at +2 compared to their zero – a 2-1 win over Martinique cancelled out by their narrow defeat to Canada. If we avoided defeat in Frisco, we’d be heading into the quarter-finals for the first time in Grenadian history.

That made it all sound very simple, and it would be anything but. Back in the Nations League, we’d clung on to a goalless draw with El Salvador at home, but been no match for them and gone down 2-0 in the away leg. This would be on neutral ground, in theory removing any advantage either side could enjoy, but both recent history and the world rankings suggested we were up against a better team. They were used to this sort of stage, this being their ninth Gold Cup in succession, and when they got here it was usually a coin flip as to whether or not they made it out of the group. We were about to flip that coin again.

I had yet more selection dilemmas to deal with, most of which could be boiled down to a single question – what do you do when your ‘weaker’ players put in a solid performance? It would seem almost unfair to drop those who had come into the team for the Martinique game after they’d done so well, but also foolish to leave talented players out of the line-up for a game we needed to take something from. I left the decision as late as possible, and then broke the news to my men.

Gold Cup Group C Matchday 3 – El Salvador vs Grenada
Lineup (3-5-2): Charles-Cook; Beckles, Pierre ©, Harrack; Ettienne, Francis, McQueen, Norburn, Belmar; Charles, Mitchell

After much deliberation, I made my choices. We would stick with a slightly more attacking version of our system, for which Belmar was crucial on the left wing and so he kept his place. We reverted to our first-choice back three, with McQueen also returning as our pivot – against quality opposition, we needed all the defensive strength we could get. Going the other way, I kept faith with the Charles/Mitchell pairing in attack, hoping that their good form from the Martinique game would carry over to this one. It left us strong at the back, in form up front, and with options left on the bench. It was as good as I could do.

El Salvador were coming to us off the back of an encouraging but ultimately disappointing defeat to the Canadians, and we had to hope we would catch them on a bad day. While they had run the Canadians close, we could also take confidence in the fact that they had only squeezed past a Martinique side that we had swatted aside fairly comfortably, and that we only needed a draw today. We couldn’t settle for that however – that would be asking for trouble.

As you might expect for a game with qualification riding on it, things started out nervous and only got more tense. There were a couple of tasty challenges on both sides in the opening moments, and little to no rhythm of any description in the early minutes. Eric Calvillo bent a free-kick into Reece-Cook’s arms, Charles looped a header over the bar, a Joaquin Rivas shot was deflected just past the post. It was both end-to-end and incredibly scrappy, and that suited neither of us.

Our opponents were significantly happier with what transpired next, as another Rivas shot was blocked by Aaron Pierre, only for the rebound to fall kindly for Cristian Gil. The Isidro Metapan frontman took a touch to evade the challenge of Harrack, and a second to send his side into the lead with an emphatic finish. As he wheeled away in celebration, our tournament was hanging by a thread.

As I clapped my men back into position for the restart, it was imperative that they stay focused. They’d overcome significant hurdles to get here in the first place, and it would be a huge shame to go out with a whimper. I thought I could see the determination in their faces as they took their places on the field, but I wasn’t sure. Without wishing to abdicate my responsibilities as a manager, there wasn’t a huge amount I could do until half time.

But I needn’t have worried. Less than five minutes after going behind, Mitchell won us a free kick 25 yards out with some clever shielding of the ball. Teenage sensation Marcus Francis placed the ball down, ushered his more experienced team-mates away, and whipped a perfect dead ball up the wall and into the top corner of Mario Gonzalez’ net. He couldn’t have placed it any better with his hands, and we were back level. This time there was no corner flag choreography – the celebrations were raw emotion, primal screams and pumping fists. There was real belief that we could do this.

The deadlock remained at the interval, and we were 45 minutes from history. I didn’t need to say a great deal in those 15 minutes – the players knew what was at stake, they knew what they needed to do. There were a couple of tactical points to raise as we sought to better deal with the creative threat of Calvillo, but there was no need for a rousing speech on my part. The focus was laser-like, and they already knew the plan. All they had to do now was execute.

10 minutes into the second half, my men did precisely that. McQueen took a pass from Ettienne, spun his man in midfield and strode forward before feeding Francis. A quick one-two with Belmar put him in a dangerous position on the corner of the area, and his ball in behind was perfect for Jamal Charles to put us into the lead for the briefest of moments – the celebrations were cut brutally short by the linesman’s flag, and the replays would confirm that Charles had gone a fraction of a second early.

The disallowed goal seemed to take the wind out of our sails, and El Salvador sensed their opportunity. Suddenly Francis was struggling to get on the ball, Belmar’s advanced position was a liability rather than a threat, and we were dropping deeper. I reacted with changes – Patterson in for Belmar in a deeper role on the left and Regan Charles-Cook in straight swap for Mitchell up front – but we seemed to be fading quicker than our opponents.

Kevin Santamaria entered the fray for El Salvador, and along with the ever-threatening Calvillo, seemed to be instructed to pass us to death. As the game ticked into the final 15 minutes, we were fortunate to still be level – Calvillo’s ball was nicked away from Gil at the last second, Rivas shot wide, Reece-Cook had to be alert to a lofted ball over the top. We weren’t threatening at all – we were clinging on.

The minutes continued to tick by, and with each one that passed we were a step closer to the quarter-finals, but another step closer to our own penalty area. We were going backwards, offering nothing, and eventually something had to give. Atkinson, on for the flagging McQueen, was a split-second late getting to Calvillo, and his pass to Kevin Reyes found its target. Ettienne stepped across to make the challenge, Reyes went to ground under the contact, and the Jamaican referee pointed to the spot. Penalty to El Salvador, 92^nd minute. Heartbreak.

I couldn’t watch as Rivas turned to take the penalty. He’d taken care to place the ball right on the front of the spot, and Reece-Cook had taken care to get the referee to check on two separate occasions. As our keeper made himself look big on the goal-line, Rivas took a deep breath and began his run-up. It was short, with none of the stuttering you often see these days. His left foot made a strong connection with the ball, which flew hard and low to Reece-Cook’s right. It was a good penalty.

But Reece-Cook was equal to it. He’d guessed correctly, and got down superbly to meet the effort. A strong right meant his save pushed the ball away to safety, and in the scramble that followed a relieved Benjamin Ettienne was able to thump the ball into the Toyota Stadium stands. Seconds later, the referee’s whistle blew. Somehow, Grenada were in the Gold Cup quarter-finals.

El Salvador 1-1 Grenada (Gil 28, Rivas m/pen 90+2; Francis 32)

Edited October 6, 2022 by EvilDave

[EvilDave]

The dressing room celebrations were long and glorious. It may have irked the Salvadorians next door, but I’m sure they’d have been doing the exact same if that penalty had found the net. Maybe with a different soundtrack, but otherwise the same. It was utter jubilation – goalkeeper Reece-Cook didn’t know whether to dance, cry, or holler at the top of his lungs, and his brother Regan was not about to let him get any respite. He was the hero, but they were all heroes, and little Grenada had made it out of the group stage for the very first time.

When I finally had a chance to survey the scene of the competition, we were by far the smallest team left standing. Mexico and Curacao had qualified ahead of Guadeloupe and Nicaragua in Group A, the US and Jamaica won through in Group B, and Honduras were surprise winners ahead of Qatar in Group D to join ourselves and Canada in the knockout rounds. Of course, we already knew who we’d be facing before final game – the runners-up in Group C would take on the winner of Group B. In other words, our reward for making history was a quarter-final clash with the hosts, the United States of America.

We’d be heading to Austin for our match-up, and the American sporting press was in full patriotic fervour. Not only was everybody predicting a blowout win against little ol’ Grenada, they were also looking ahead to the rest of the draw and talking themselves into a place in the final – after all, their semi-final would be against either Curacao or Honduras, and surely neither of those teams could threaten the mighty US of A?

While it bordered on obnoxious at times, it gave us plenty of reason to want to beat to hosts. It would be one of CONCACAF’s biggest ever upsets if we pulled it off and was incredibly unlikely, but we had to believe. Nobody had thought we could make it into the knockouts, and yet here we were. Over the course of 90 minutes almost anything could happen, and as long as we were there we had a chance. After all, if bottom-of-the-group Panama had snatched a draw in their last game, it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that we could do the same. And if we held out for extra time…

But I was getting ahead of myself. We had four days before the match – four days to rest, recover, plan and prepare. Four days to put ourselves in the best possible position to make history once again. My men were already national heroes – a win against the US would make them immortal.

[EvilDave]

Gold Cup Quarter-Final – United States of America vs Grenada
Lineup (5-3-2): Charles-Cook; Ettienne, Beckles, Pierre ©, Harrack, Patterson; Francis, McQueen, Norburn; Charles, Mitchell

There was just one change to our line-up for the biggest game of every Grenadian player’s life. Kharlton Belmar was an attacking option at left wing-back, but we couldn’t risk him starting in a game where we would be under pressure from the first whistle. AJ Paterson came back in to assume the deeper role, but otherwise, we would set up as we started against El Salvador. After all, it had worked once.

But if we’d thought Canada were a challenge with their handful of international stars, we were now looking at an altogether different animal. Every single one of their starting line-up was on the books at a team in the top flight of a major European league, and there were some big names represented there – Barcelona, Chelsea, Dortmund, PSG. They could call on Premier League players from the bench, whereas a good portion of our squad had never played outside of Grenada. It would be an almighty challenge.

And yet miracles can happen. From the kick-off, we passed the ball calmly around at the back, skilfully avoiding the American press. A missed tackle on McQueen was the trigger for the wing-backs to push on, and the recalled Patterson found space on the left. He crossed early, and Chris Richards could only head behind for a corner. Francis’ outswinging delivery was met perfectly by the leap of captain Aaron Pierre, and Austin fell silent as the Spice Boys danced in celebration. This wasn’t in their script.

Of course, we got a reaction. Some of that was expected, and some of it wasn’t. Within five minutes of Pierre’s goal, Josh Sargent was screaming at the referee that his own headed effort had crossed the line. It hadn’t, the referee tapped his watch by way of rebuke, and play continued. The crowd didn’t like it though, and already the boos started to sound. Pulisic lashed one wide, Timothy Weah hit the side netting, and Anthonee Robinson clattered into a late tackle that left Benjamin Ettienne winded and sore. They weren’t good at being behind.

The shots continued to rain in on Charles-Cook’s goal, but the US weren’t really creating quality chances. They were shots from distance and awkward angles, headers from substandard positions. In the final third there were misplaced passes, and when we managed to get our foot on the ball, the challenges were increasingly angry and petulant. If anything, they were beating themselves.

Just before the half hour, with the possession probably reaching 80/20 in the hosts’ favour, we finally managed to string a few passes together and take the sting out the game. That is, until Sergino Dest leapt into a tackle on McQueen long after the ball had gone, studs showing in an act of pure frustration. To howls of derision from the stands, the Costa Rican referee did the only thing he could do, showing the Barcelona man the red card and reducing the US to 10 men. Their nightmare was only getting worse.

Gregg Berhalter reacted in the only way he could, switching Tyler Adams from deep-lying midfield to right-back and sacrificing Sargent for another midfielder in the form of Weston McKennie and leaving Pulisic and Weah to cover three forward positions between them. But in the wake of the sending off, it took the Americans a little while to regroup and figure out what they were supposed to be doing. When the half-time whistle blew with their team still trailing humble Grenada, the fans in the stands let their feelings be known. Directed at the referee, at Dest, at Berhalter and his team – scorn was poured on all and sundry as we retreated down the tunnel. We could hardly have hoped for a better half, and stood yet again on the edge of history.

But even with the numerical advantage, we could not go out and dominate the game against the Americans – these were seasoned professionals at the highest level of the game, and many of my men were still holding down day jobs to pay their way. An extra man on the field helped us, but we couldn’t expect to run riot. In fact, we anticipated little less than an American onslaught in the second period.

[EvilDave]

It came too, almost immediately. From kick-off we were forced to concede a corner after a surge down the right from Pulisic, and Charles-Cook had to be alert to hold on to Carter-Vickers’ subsequent header. Gio Reyna drove forward from midfield to fire a shot which our keeper had to tip over, and his partner Yunus Musah was soon in on the act, fizzing a fierce effort just wide from 20 yards. We were still struggling to sustain any sort of possession, although we were not retreating as we had done against El Salvador. Not yet.

In fact, we did manage the odd foray forward. Jamal Charles almost doubled our lead with a superb solo run, weaving past two men before bending his effort wide, and then a deep free-kick was headed just over by goalscorer Pierre. We were now looking to be more direct, trying to spring our strikers rather than necessarily passing through the lines, but we had to hold a threat somehow.

Before much longer, it was clear that we were beginning to tire despite the extra man. Benjamin Ettienne, who had played every minute of our campaign so far, was flagging, and so he came off – McQueen moved from the midfield pivot to right wing-back, and Charles Atkinson went on in the centre of the park. Shavon John-Brown replaced Mitchell up front to give us both extra pace and more of a midfield link, and we looked the see out the remaining 20 minutes.

If the crowd were angry before, they were furious now. Every Grenadian pass was booed, every American error greeted with groans and jeers. Whenever the referee called a foul against the hosts he was heckled from the stands – and those heckles were quickly redirected towards us as my men began to ‘manage’ the game, taking a few extra seconds to pick themselves up off the ground or reposition the ball. Slowly but surely, we were eating up the minutes.

But there was still time, and the US kept coming. Brenden Aaronson and Matthew Hoppe replaced Musah and Robinson as Berhalter moved to an effective 3-3-3 formation, and his men piled forward. Hoppe headed a Pulisic cross into the keeper’s arms, and then we had our hearts in our mouths as Weah’s stinging strike wrong-footed Charles-Cook courtesy of a deflection off Beckles, only to fall wide of the post. We were into the last 10 minutes now, and while we were hanging on, we still had the lead.

In the 84^th minute, Beckles rose well to win his aerial duel, but only headed into space where Reyna could collect. He surged past Atkinson and clipped a ball between Pierre and Harrack for Pulisic to run onto. The American captain’s first touch was enough for him to take the ball round Charles-Cook, and his second rolled it calmly over the line and into the back of the net. Our defenders looked in vain for an offside flag that would never come, and just like that we had our dreams snatched away from us.

But we were still level, and still had the extra men. If we could take the US into extra time, their fitness would surely be tested, and we’d have a real opportunity to either grab the win in the additional period, or take our chance in the lottery of the penalty shootout. There were still plenty of reasons for us to be hopeful.

Until Pulisic stole those too. In the first minute of four added on, Weah’s low ball into the area was missed at the near post by Matthew Hoppe, but his run had drawn Charles-Cook into no man’s land. Arriving at the back post ahead of his man for an easy tap-in was Captain America himself, and his guttural roar was matched by a huge release of tension in the crowd. The fans that were berating their heroes just moments before were now worshipping them again, and order was restored. Grenada, my Grenada, were going home.

United States of America 2-1 Grenada (Dest s/o 29, Pulisic 84, 90+1; Pierre 3)

[EvilDave]

The US celebrations that followed were those that had angered me at the beginning of this tale – the over-the-top, scream-in-your-face style of celebrating that often had the rest of the world rolling their eyes. They’d only beaten Grenada after all, and while a win is a win, it was hardly one of their finest hours.

I said as much at the post-game press conference, congratulating Gregg Berhalter on his victory but questioning his players’ mentality – they’d turned violent and petulant after going behind, and seemed to struggle under the pressure of being favourites. The US press did not like that once bit, but ultimately I would be proved right. In their semi-final, against the relative minnows of Curacao, they again went down to 10 men after conceding the first goal, again grabbed a late equaliser, but this time Curacao succeeded where we had failed, going ahead in extra time and sending the US crashing out. Failing to win on home soil, and seeing the Mexicans beat Curacao comfortably in the final, would lead to one of those soul-searching reviews that US Soccer seems to go through every few years.

As for me and Grenada? We returned home as heroes, having achieved something that no Grenadian side had ever achieved before. The game against the US had drawn a huge TV audience, some of our men were suddenly household names, and the reception received would live long in the memory. It was clear that even in defeat, we had triumphed.

And for me, that was enough. With the likes of Marcus Francis and Charles Atkinson coming through the ranks, the future of Grenadian football looked to be in good, and it was time to hand over the reins to a local manager who could lead the team forward. My favour to Stew and the FA was for two years, and those two years were over.

I didn’t know what would come next either, nor was in a particular hurry to find out. For now, Grenada seemed like the perfect place to wait and see.
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That wraps up this particular EvilDave tale - thank you for joining me on this short Carribean adventure!