MIAMI, Florida – Guadeloupe produced arguably the most thrilling debut in Concacaf Gold Cup history when they reached the semifinals of the 2007 edition while appearing in the tournament for the very first time.
The player who led the way for Les Gwada Boys during that summer 14 years ago was Jocelyn Angloma, and now the former UEFA Champions League finalist is back as the Head Coach and hoping to lead Guadeloupe to their first Gold Cup qualification since 2011.
The pathway to the Gold Cup group stage will begin on July 3 in the first round of the Prelims against Bahamas, and despite not featuring earlier this year in Concacaf World Cup Qualifying for Qatar 2022, Guadeloupe will arrive into next week’s encounter with plenty of confidence.
Weeks on the training field under Angloma’s watchful eye resulted in an impressive 2-1 friendly win at Martinique on Wednesday night in which DF and captain Ronan Hauterville scored with a header off a corner kick, followed by fellow DF Steve Solvet pouncing on a loose ball to score the second of the night.
It was the kind of performance that if Guadeloupe can replicate against the Bahamas, they will feel like they can reach the next round of the Prelims and be a game away from the Gold Cup group stage.
Angloma’s squad includes nine players who play in Europe, including GK Johan Thurman and DF Michael Alphonse of French club Amiens, MF Dimitri Cavre of Swiss giants FC Sion, FW Matthias Phaeton of France’s Guingamp and DF Anthony Baron of Swiss club FC Nyonnais.
Then there is FW Raphael Mirval, who led all players in League C in scoring during the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League with seven goals, as Guadeloupe topped their group.
Ten years after their last Gold Cup appearance, Guadeloupe will be eager to take aim at a return to the tournament.
