
Tags: St Vincent And The Grenadines, Arnos Vale, Ezra Hendrickson, concacaf world cup qualifiers, Oalex Anderson
St Vincent and the Grenadines will take the field at Arnos Vale on Wednesday night needing more than just a win—they need goals, and plenty of them.
Lying next to the bottom of Group F after back-to-back losses to Suriname (4-1) and Puerto Rico (3-1), Vincy Heat enter their third World Cup qualifying match with zero points and a worrying -5 goal difference. It’s a situation that leaves them with no room for error if they are to keep their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign alive.
“It’s going to be an exciting match,” said head coach Ezra Hendrickson ahead of Tuesday’s final training session. “It’s a match that, going into it, we know exactly what we need to do. First and foremost is win the game, and we need to make up as much of the goal difference that we've found ourselves in at the moment. So that’s going to be the focus.”
Their opponent, Anguilla, has also endured a rough start—conceding 12 goals in two games without scoring. Still, both Hendrickson and team captain Oalex Anderson made it clear that the Vincy Heat are not taking anything for granted.
“We not by any means taking Anguilla lightly,” said Anderson. “We’re not looking down on them—not as a team, not as a nation. But we know we need to win, and we need to win convincingly.”
The St Vincent captain, who has been a constant figure through the ups and downs of the national team, called for his teammates to approach the match with the same mentality they brought into their March clash with regional giants Jamaica.
“We’re going to approach this game just like any other game, especially how we approached Jamaica’s game—with the same intensity, same structure, same respect,” he said. “We know it’s not an impossible task, but it’s a very high hill to climb, and anything is possible.”
Vincy Heat had held Jamaica to a 1-1 draw at Arnos Vale on March 21 in their CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifier before losing the return leg 3-0 at Sabina Park.
Hendrickson pointed to that home performance against Jamaica as the emotional turning point for the squad.
“The last time out in a competitive match that counted towards a competition was against Jamaica. We came out that first game and played really, really well—up until that last 30 seconds. We allowed them to tie the match,” he explained. “That kind of left a bad taste in our mouths. So the boys are ready to go out again in front of our crowd and do what’s necessary.”
The coach confirmed there would be some changes to the starting XI, mostly positional adjustments rather than wholesale swaps, but assured that fans can expect a strong team.
“There will be a few changes—mainly shuffling guys around in positions. But you're going to see a very strong lineup tomorrow,” he said. “We now have a team that’s been together for a while. It’s a seasoned team. We’re competitive in training every day. I think we’ve got it to where we can start any of the top 18 and not feel like we’re having much of a drop-off.”
Anderson, as always, is expected to lead from the front—on the field and in the dressing room. His leadership style, he said, is rooted in confidence and calm.
“My thing is not to put too much pressure on any of the players,” he said. “We have a lot of young guys, and it’s about making them feel comfortable, like they belong. Once they know they have older guys who’ve been playing abroad giving them the freedom to be themselves and just play football, they’ll settle and perform.”
As for the fans, Hendrickson made a heartfelt appeal. “We need that 12th man tomorrow to really put the energy onto the pitch and let the boys feed off that,” he said. “I think the people are finally starting to get back into football again. We’ve been making progress. We’re not quite where we want to be yet, but the trajectory is upward. Football in St Vincent is back.”
Squad for World Cup Qualifier vs Anguilla (June 4, 2025)
Goalkeepers: Dondre Abraham, Garwin Davis, Samir Bristol
Defenders: Andrew Johnson, Jamol Yorke, Jomarie Lynch, Najima Burgin, Nigell Charles, Tristan Marshall
Midfielders: Diel Spring, Kennijha Joseph, Kyle Edwards, Micah Joseph, Milton Joseph, Nazir McBurnette, Tevin Thompson
Forwards: Azinho Solomon, Chad Haynes, Cornelius Stewart, Garret Leigertwood, Kirtney Franklyn, Oalex Anderson (captain), Steven Pierre
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