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CONCACAF Nations League Qualifying won’t be back until March, when the final round of games will be played and the qualifiers for both 2019-20 Nations League and 2019 Gold Cup will be confirmed.
Guyana has found an interesting way to pass the time: challenging the result of its 2-2 draw with Barbados back in September. Rawle Toney reports for the Guyana Chronicle that the Guyana Football Federation has questioned the eligibility of Barbados’ Hallam Hope for that match.
Guyana could qualify for the Gold Cup after all it seems, Barbados striker Hallam Hope apparently did not have proper FIFA clearance to play in the game vs Guyana @caribbeanfooty @We_Global https://t.co/G9q9eAN14u
— Santokie (@San_Toki_) November 30, 2018
Hope scored both Barbados’ goals in the game, so he was hardly insignificant to the result. But some close observers aren’t entirely convinced Guyana has a case:
Lord, this again? To my (limited) knowledge, this will be unsuccessful due to the fact that Hope only played U19 for England and below U21 level caps are non-binding anyway. Assuming he had a Bajan passport (and they do checks prior to matches) that may be the difference here.
— Caribbean Football (@caribbeanfooty) November 30, 2018
Their next game was over 5 weeks later. The appeal had to be filed immediately, the decision afterwards doesn't take that long. Now the story breaks 12 weeks after the game. If you filed an appeal and are confident, why tell the press 3 months later?
— RBS_Fan_01 (@RBS_Fan_01) December 1, 2018
The merits of Guyana’s complaint will presumably be decided by CONCACAF in due course.
If the Golden Jaguars do persuade CONCACAF to void the 2-2 draw and award a 3-0 win by forfeit to Guyana, it would change the current CNL Qualifying picture significantly. Guyana currently has four points from three games and is a longshot to make Gold Cup - but turning a 2-2 draw into a 3-0 win would bounce the Golden Jaguars up to 8th in the qualifying table with six points and a +10 goal difference.
With a winnable home game against Belize coming up in the concluding round of qualifiers, Guyana would suddenly look like a solid contender for a place at the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The GFF president, Wayne Ford, told the Guyana Chronicle a statement would be issued in the “near future”.