Montserrat national football team

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.

Montserrat

Nickname(s)	Emerald Boys
Association	Montserrat Football Association
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation	CFU (Caribbean)
Head coach	Willie Donachie[1]
Captain	Lyle Taylor
Most caps	Dean Mason (14)
Top scorer	Jaylee Hodgson Bradley Woods-Garness (4)
Home stadium	Blakes Estate Stadium
FIFA code	MSR
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	183 (10 December 2020)[2]
Highest	165 (August 2014)
Lowest	206 (January 2011 – January 2012, June 2012, August – September 2012)
First international
Saint Lucia 3–0 Montserrat  (Saint Lucia; 10 May 1991)
Biggest win
Montserrat 7–0 British Virgin Islands  (Fort-de-France, Martinique; 9 September 2012)
Biggest defeat
Bermuda 13–0 Montserrat  (Hamilton, Bermuda; 29 February 2004)

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 2018 have been lost. Since then, however, Montserrat has proven more competitive.

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. 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.[3]

Montserrat's fortunes changed dramatically in 2018 with the arrival of Willie Donachie and launch of the CONCACAF Nations League. The side won 3 of their four qualifying games, but missed out on qualification for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup on goal difference after Nicaragua scored with 25 minutes to go against Barbados, to take the Emerald Boys' Gold Cup place.[4] The team went on to take second place in their group in the inaugural season with two wins, draws, and losses each, thus keeping their place at the second tier.

Montserrat all-time record against all nations

As of 19 November 2019[5]

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%
Aruba	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100%
Barbados	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0%
Belize	3	1	0	2	4	8	−4	33%
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%
Cayman Islands	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	100%
Curaçao	2	0	1	1	3	4	−1	0%
Dominican Republic	4	1	1	2	3	7	−4	25%
El Salvador	3	0	0	3	1	5	−4	0%
Martinique	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0%
Saint Kitts and Nevis	2	0	0	2	1	10	−9	0%
Saint Lucia	3	1	1	1	2	4	−2	33%
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	37	9	5	23	38	113	−75	24%

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. Success in the qualifying tournament for the CONCACAF Nations League and the first edition of the league proper saw them rise to #184.[6]

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 usually worn a first-choice kit of green, either plain green[7] or green and white hoops.[8] Currently, the away kit is red jersey, shorts and socks.

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

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

2021

24 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying	Antigua and Barbuda	v	Montserrat	St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda
				Stadium: Antigua Recreation Ground

28 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying	Montserrat	v	El Salvador	Lookout, Montserrat
				Stadium: Blakes Estate Stadium

2 June 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying	Montserrat	v	U.S. Virgin Islands	Lookout, Montserrat
				Stadium: Blakes Estate Stadium

8 June 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying	Grenada	v	Montserrat	St. George's, Grenada
				Stadium: Kirani James Athletic Stadium

July 2021 2021 Gold Cup Q1

Trinidad and Tobago

v

Montserrat

United States

Current squad

The following players were called up for the CONCACAF Nations League vs  El Salvador and  Saint Lucia on 16 and 19 November 2019.[9]

Caps/goals correct as of 19 November 2019 after the game against  Saint Lucia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Corrin Brooks-Meade	19 March 1988	12	0	Oroklini/Troulloi
21	GK	Micah Hilton	2 October 1985	3	0	Police
2	DF	Michael Williams	5 February 1988	13	0	Stafford Rangers
5	DF	Joey Taylor	18 August 1997	10	1	Sevenoaks Town
22	DF	Craig Braham-Barrett (vice-captain)	1 September 1988	10	0	Dartford
19	DF	Nathan Pond	5 January 1985	4	1	AFC Fylde
15	DF	Marshall Willock	7 April 2000	2	0	Kemi City
23	MF	Dean Mason	28 February 1989	14	0	London Tigers
18	MF	Alex Dyer	11 June 1990	13	0	Wealdstone
11	MF	James Comley (vice-captain)	24 January 1991	10	1	Maidenhead United
10	MF	Brandon Comley	18 November 1995	9	0	Bolton Wanderers
14	MF	Solomon Henry	21 October 1983	7	0	Unattached
12	MF	Matthew Whichelow	28 September 1991	3	0	Kings Langley
8	FW	Bradley Woods-Garness	26 June 1986	13	4	Wingate & Finchley
7	FW	Spencer Weir-Daley	5 September 1985	12	3	Peterborough Sports
20	FW	Massiah McDonald	20 August 1991	10	0	Barwell
13	FW	Jamie Allen	25 May 1995	2	0	F.C. Halifax 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

Coaching staff

Position	Name	Notes
Manager	Willie Donachie
Assistant Manager	George Dublin
Assistant Manager	Dennison Daley
Goalkeeping Coach	TBD
Senior Physiotherapist	Paul Morgan

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									To be determined
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total	–	0/21	–	–	–	–	–	–		9	0	1	8	8	45

Gold Cup

Gold Cup record
Year	Round	Position	MP	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1991	Did not qualify
1993	Did not enter
1996	Did not qualify
1998	Did not enter
2000	Did not qualify
2002	Did not qualify
2003	Withdrew
2005	Did not qualify
2007	Did not enter
2009	Did not enter
2011	Did not qualify
2013	Did not qualify
2015	Did not qualify
2017	Did not enter
2019	Did not qualify
2021	In progress
Total	0 titles	0/25	0	0	0	0	0	0

CONCACAF Nations League

CONCACAF Nations League record
Year	Division	Group	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	P/R	Rank
2019−20	B	B	6	2	2	2	4	5		20th
2022–23	B	To be determined
Total			6	2	2	2	4	5	20th

Caribbean Cup record

Caribbean Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1989	Did not enter
1990	Did not enter
1991	Did not qualify
1992	Did not qualify
1993	Did not enter
1994	Did not qualify
1995	Did not qualify
1996	Did not enter
1997	Did not enter
1998	Did not enter
1999	Did not qualify
2001	Did not qualify
2005	Did not qualify
2007	Did not enter
2008	Did not enter
2010	Did not qualify
2012	Did not qualify
2014	Did not qualify
2017	Did not enter
Total	0 Titles	0/19	0	0	0	0	0	0

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)[10][11]
• Paul Morris (2000–2002)

References

1. FIFA.com. "Member Association - Montserrat - FIFA.com". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
3. "Concacaf". Concacaf.globalsportsmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
4. Montserrat miss out on first Gold Cup qualification Euronews. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
5. "World Football Elo Ratings". www.eloratings.net. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
6. FIFA.com. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Ranking Table - FIFA.com". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
7. "The Montserrat Miracle Men March On". PressFrom – UK. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
8. FIFA.com. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ – Teams – Montserrat – Profile". FIFA.com. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
9. CONCACAF Nations League.
10. "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
11. "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

• RSSSF archive of Montserrat national team results
• National Football Teams
• Guardian article which refers to Montserrat's 2012 match against a Network Rail XI