Antigua and Barbuda national football team

Antigua and Barbuda
Nickname(s) The Benna Boys
Association Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA)
Confederation Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)
Sub-confederation Caribbean Football Union (CFU)
Head coach Rolston Williams
Captain Joshua Parker
Most caps Peter Byers (75)
Top scorer Peter Byers (40)
Home stadium Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and Antigua Recreation Ground
FIFA code ATG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 82 Steady (24 November 2016)
Highest 70 (October 2014)
Lowest 170 (December 2003–January 2004)
Elo ranking
Current 163 Decrease 5 (23 November 2016)
Highest 131 (November 2010)
Lowest 179 (November 2007)
First international
 Trinidad and Tobago 11–1  Antigua and Barbuda
(Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago; 10 November 1972)
Biggest win
 Antigua and Barbuda 10–0  U.S. Virgin Islands
(North Sound, Antigua & Barbuda; 11 October 2011)
Biggest defeat
 Trinidad and Tobago 11–1  Antigua and Barbuda
(Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago; 10 November 1972)

The Antigua and Barbuda National Football Team is the national team of Antigua and Barbuda and is controlled by the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association, a member of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football and the Caribbean Football Union.

Nickname

The official nickname of the Antigua and Barbuda national football team is The Benna Boys due to the indigenous music of the country. The name was selected in a contest with the fanbase in 2012 after the team advanced to the third round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. The Benna Boys beat out other entries in the contest such as Beach Boys, Iron Bandits, Rhythm Warriors and Party Crashers.[1] In the past, the national team was unofficially known as the Wadadli Boys, another name that was in the contest but did not win.[2]

History

(1972) First international matches

The Antigua and Barbuda Football Association became affiliated with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) in 1970. The first official FIFA match played by Antigua and Barbuda was away against Trinidad and Tobago in Port-of Spain, Trinidad on 10 November 1972 for a home and away series during 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification. Trinidad and Tobago won the first match 11–1, making this result Antigua and Barbuda's worst loss in team history. The Soca Warriors also won the second leg in St. John's, Antigua 2–1 nine days later.

The Antigua and Barbuda national football team in Bungay, Suffolk, England on May 24th, 2008 after scrimmages against English lower division side Lowestoft Town.

(1998) Fourth place finish in the 1998 Caribbean Cup Finals

The 1998 Caribbean Cup, hosted by Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, saw Antigua and Barbuda, led by Serbian coach Zoran Vraneš, serve up a surprise as they reached the semi-finals of the competition. In the qualifying round, the Benna Boys had an unbeaten string of matches securing progression to group stages of the finals. Antigua were placed in Group 4, along with Grenada, Guyana and Anguilla. A 2–2 draw to Guyana in the opening game was followed by a 7–0 thrashing of Anguilla – in which The Benna Boys were rampant. All this before a narrow 2–1 victory over Grenada, who finished in second spot on 6 points. Winning two matches and drawing one saw Antigua and Barbuda topped the group with 7 points, sealing their progression to the group stage of the Caribbean Cup Finals.

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Antigua and Barbuda 73210113+8
 Grenada 63201174+13
 Guyana 43111174+13
 Anguilla 03003135−34

In the group stage, there were two groups. Antigua and Barbuda were put into Group A with their first match coming against a very talented Trinidad and Tobago team, a match they narrowly lost 3–2. A 2–1 win over Dominica followed, with Derrick Edwards and Winston Roberts grabbing the crucial goals that gave Antigua the platform to carry onto the final tie against Martinique, and a 5–1 hammering of the latter was assured. The performances in the aforementioned three matches saw Antigua and Barbuda get second place in the group and qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament.

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Trinidad and Tobago 93300133+10
 Antigua and Barbuda 6320195+4
 Martinique 3310278−1
 Dominica 03003215−13

The Benna Boys' first and only qualification to the knockout round saw them pitted against the heavy favourites of the tournament, Jamaica's Reggae Boys. Antigua and Barbuda did so well to keep their fierce rivals at bay for normal time, until Onandi Lowe struck in the 110th minute of extra time to send Antigua and Barbuda into a 3rd Place Playoff with Haiti who lost to Trinidad & Tobago in the other semi-final. That would produce a magnificent encounter, with Antigua ending up the losing team in a five-goal thriller. Vaughn Christopher and Ranjae Christian bagged the duo of goals for Antigua and Barbuda but it wasn’t enough to grab third place and a bronze medal. To this day, placing fourth in this edition of the Caribbean Cup is the highest achievement for the Benna Boys.

Semifinals


29 July 1998
 Trinidad and Tobago 4–1  Haiti
Stern John  1'  60'
Irasto Knights  15'  42'
Eddy Cesar  85'

Third Place Playoff

31 July 1998
 Haiti 3–2 Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda
Jean Bernard Fleurial  72'
Jean Robert Menelas  27'
Abrahim Mackenzy  71'
Vaughn Christopher  53'
Ranjae Christian  58'

(2005) First UEFA opponent

On December 17, 2005 the Antigua and Barbuda national team played their first and only ever match against a European opponent after the Hungarian Football Federation invited the Benna Boys to play Hungary in an international friendly at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This was the first match coached by former national striker Derrick Edwards. Antigua and Barbuda went down early in the 10th minute when Krisztian Vadocz tricky footwork saw him evade three defenders and fired past goalkeeper Elvis Anthony to make it 1–0. Then in the 32nd minute, the Hungarians doubled the scoreline when Robert Feczesin easily redirected a Daniel Tozser free kick with his head past Anthony, who failed adjust quickly enough. The Hungarians then added a third 10 minutes from time through Istvan Ferenczi, who fired home from just outside the six-yards box.[3]

(2011–2012) Historical run in 2014 World Cup Qualifying

Kerry Skepple about to score the game-winning goal versus Haiti on November 11th, 2011 to advance to the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.

Antigua and Barbuda led by Tom Curtis made a historic run to the third round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They received a bye from the first round of CONCACAF qualifiers and were grouped with the U.S. Virgin Islands, Curaçao and Haiti in the second round. Their first match was at home to Curaçao. After conceding the first goal, the Benna Boys came back to win the match 5–2. Next, Antigua and Barbuda played away to the U.S. Virgin Islands and won convincingly 8–1. In their third fixture, Antigua and Barbuda had to play a tricky away match at Curaçao. Tamarley Thomas scored the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute to give Antigua and Barbuda all 3 points. Up next in their fourth fixture of the second round was a home match versus the U.S. Virgin Islands. Antigua and Barbuda wasted little time before scoring the opening goal. In this match, the Benna Boys made history with an emphatic 10–0 win that saw Peter Byers and Tamarley Thomas both scoring hat-tricks. This was the biggest win in Antigua and Barbuda football history. While Antigua and Barbuda easily beat the U.S. Virgin Islands, Curaçao drew away at Haiti. This meant that Haiti needed at least a draw in their next match in Antigua to stay alive in the competition. On November 11, 2011, Antigua and Barbuda played versus Haiti at home. This match proved difficult for the Benna Boys. For large spells of the match Haiti had majority of the possession and almost scored on a number of occasions including hitting the post twice in the first half. In the second half, Haiti was content on settling for a draw knowing that the next match was in Port-au-Prince and would be favoured to win. In the 82nd minute, Antigua and Barbuda opened up the deadlock with a strike from Kerry Skepple. After the goal, Haiti pressed for the equalizer and forced goalkeeper Molvin James to make some terrific saves. Antigua and Barbuda won this match 1–0 and advanced to the third round of CONCACAF qualifying thus eliminating Haiti with a game to spare. In the final match, the Benna Boys lost in the return leg in Haiti 2–1. Winning this group saw Antigua and Barbuda's FIFA World ranking go to 83rd, their highest ever at the time.

{{2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round Group F |expanded=yes |fixtures=yes}}

The Antigua and Barbuda national team in their historic World Cup 2014 qualifying match versus the United States on October 12th, 2012 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

In the third round, Antigua and Barbuda were grouped with Jamaica, Guatemala and the United States. The first fixture in his group was an away match to the United States. Most people were expecting a convincing win by the U.S. but Antigua and Barbuda made it a competitive game. After conceding the first two goals from Carlos Bocanegra and Clint Dempsey in the 8th and the 44th minute respectively, Peter Byers scored a goal on a through pass from Mikele Leigertwood to bring the match to 2–1 in the 65th minute. The Benna Boys were somehow trying to equalize but that came to an end in the 72nd minute when Hercules Gomez scored a goal. The match ended in a 3–1 loss but Antigua and Barbuda gained respect for standing toe to toe with a CONCACAF giant. Up next was a home match to Jamaica. It ended in 0–0 draw gaining their first ever point in the third round of World Cup qualifying. Next, was another tough road test versus Guatemala in the pouring rain that saw some areas of field flooded. Surprisingly, Antigua and Barbuda opened the scoring in the 39th minute from Peter Byers and took the lead into half time. In the second half, Carlos Ruiz leveled the match at 1–1 in the 60th minute. It went from bad to worse when they were reduced to 10 men. Molvin James received a second yellow card for time wasting and Ruiz scored another goal to take the lead 3 minutes later. In the 91st minute Dwight Pezzarossi sealed the match 3–1. The return leg against Guatemala in Antigua saw Guatemala win 1–0 on a wonder strike from Carlos Ruiz in the 25th minute. A home match versus the United States was the next on the schedule. The United States opened up the scoring in the 20th minute on a header from Eddie Johnson but then 5 minutes later the Benna Boys leveled the score from Dexter Blackstock from a Peter Byers pass. The match saw both teams have chances to take the lead even though the U.S. had majority of the possession. Unfortunately, Antigua and Barbuda conceded a late goal, again off of an Eddie Johnson header in the 90th minute. The match ended in a 2–1 defeat thus eliminating them from advancing to the next round. The final match of the third round was a 4–1 loss away to Jamaica ending their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

{{2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Third Round Group A |expanded=yes |fixtures=yes}}

(2016) Friendly arranged with Estonia

It was announced by the Estonian Football Association on May 2, 2016 that their national team will play Antigua and Barbuda in a international friendly on November 22. It will be the Benna Boys second match ever versus a European opponent.[4]

Rivalries

The Antigua and Barbuda Benna Boys' biggest rivals are with the Saint Kitts and Nevis' Sugar Boys dating back from the inauguration of the Leeward Islands Tournament in 1949. In that tournament in particular, Saint Kitts and Nevis has the majority of wins in the head to head meetings. Although in FIFA 'A' international matches both teams have the same number of wins in the head to head meetings whether in Caribbean Cup Qualifying or international friendlies. The rivalry has calmed down a bit due to the Leeward Islands Tournament not being played since 2003. Another rival to a much lesser degree is with Haiti. Overall, Haiti has the better all time head to head record with seven wins to Antigua and Barbuda's two along with three draws between them. The rivalry in recent years comes from both World Cup Qualifying and Gold Cup Qualifying with Antigua and Barbuda eliminating Haiti in 2011 in the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers and then the following year in 2012, Haiti eliminated Antigua and Barbuda from reaching the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Stadiums

Antigua Recreation Ground

The original home stadium of the Antigua and Barbuda national football team. Located in the heart of the capital, Saint John's. More info coming soon.

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium

Another home venue for the Benna Boys, which is located in North Sound. More info coming soon.




Past and present crests

These are the crests used over the years by the Antigua and Barbuda national football team.

Used 1928–2006
Used 2006–present
Used presently (alternate logo)

Kits

Kit manufacturer

The current kit of the Antigua and Barbuda national football team are manufactured by British company Admiral on June 2016 in time for the second round of the 2017 Caribbean Cup qualifiers. The first kit is the gold combined with black for mainly the home matches and the red with the black are the away uniforms. Before Admiral, the team kits were from China-based Peak Sportswear. The Benna Boys have worn that brand since 2012, after they qualified to the third round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Kit manufacturer Period
Italy Virma 2000–2003
Germany
Adidas
2006–2011
China
Peak
2012–2016
United Kingdom
Admiral
2016–current

Kit Evolution

These are some of the kits worn over the years by the Antigua and Barbuda national football team over the years.

2012 Peak Home Uniform
2012 Peak Away Uniform
2016 Admiral Home Uniform
2016 Admiral Away Uniform

Latest results and all-time record

Latest results and upcoming fixtures

Results and fixtures from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Since the last World Cup the Antigua and Barbuda national football team has a record of 11 wins, 2 draws and 10 losses, scoring 33 goals and conceding 31 goals, with the team having only 6 shutouts.

2014

2015

2016


Key

  Win   Draw   Loss

All-time record against all opponents

These all-time records are exclusively class 'A' internationals matches.[5]

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against
 Anguilla 5 5 0 0 28 3
 Aruba 3 3 0 0 6 1
 Barbados 6 0 1 5 7 14
 Bermuda 10 2 4 4 9 12
 British Virgin Islands 8 4 2 2 14 10
 Cayman Islands 2 0 1 1 1 3
 Cuba 5 0 1 4 3 13
 Curaçao 3 2 0 1 8 5
 Dominica 15 8 4 3 27 18
 Dominican Republic 6 1 2 3 8 11
 Estonia 1 0 0 1 0 1
 French Guiana 1 1 0 0 2 1
 Grenada 5 2 3 0 12 7
 Guadeloupe 4 0 1 3 2 7
 Guatemala 6 1 0 5 3 15
 Guyana 10 4 3 3 12 16
 Haiti 12 2 3 7 11 19
 Honduras 1 0 0 1 0 1
 Hungary 1 0 0 1 0 3
 Jamaica 8 1 1 6 4 18
 Martinique 4 1 0 3 6 12
 Mexico 1 0 0 1 0 8
 Montserrat 3 3 0 0 18 4
 Puerto Rico 1 1 0 1 3 2
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 23 9 5 9 30 31
 Saint Lucia 13 5 3 5 23 15
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 13 7 2 4 17 20
 Sint Maarten 3 2 0 1 7 2
 Suriname 6 1 2 3 4 15
 Trinidad and Tobago 13 2 0 11 12 41
 U.S. Virgin Islands 3 3 0 0 20 1
 United States 2 0 0 2 2 5
Total 197 70 37 90 295 332
Key

  Winning record   Equal record   Losing record

Competition records

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA PTS Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter Did Not Enter
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
Germany 1974 Did Not Qualify 4004322
Argentina 1978 Did Not Enter Did Not Enter
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986 Did Not Qualify 210125
Italy 1990 200214
United States 1994 411256
France 1998 201146
South Korea Japan2002 6123415
Germany 2006 210123
South Africa 2010 420278
Brazil 2014 125163218
Russia 2018 420266
Qatar 2022 To Be Determined To Be Determined
Appearances: 0/21 -- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 13 5 24 66 93

Gold Cup record

CONCACAF Gold Cup record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA PTS
United States1991 Did Not Qualify
United StatesMexico 1993 Did Not Qualify
United States 1996 Did Not Qualify
United States 1998 Did Not Qualify
United States 2000 Did Not Qualify
United States 2002 Did Not Qualify
United StatesMexico 2003 Did Not Qualify
United States 2005 Did Not Qualify
United States 2007 Did Not Qualify
United States 2009 Did Not Qualify
United States 2011 Did Not Qualify
United States 2013 Did Not Qualify
United StatesCanada 2015 Did Not Qualify
United States 2017 Did Not Qualify
Appearances: 0/14 -- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Caribbean Cup record

CFU Caribbean Cup record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA PTS
Barbados 1989 Did Not Qualify
Trinidad and Tobago 1990 Did Not Qualify
Jamaica 1991 Did Not Qualify
Trinidad and Tobago 1992 Group Stage 3 0 1 2 2 12 1
Jamaica 1993 Did Not Qualify
Trinidad and Tobago 1994 Did Not Qualify
Cayman IslandsJamaica 1995 Group Stage 3 1 0 2 3 5 3
Trinidad and Tobago 1996 Withdrew
Antigua and Barbuda Saint Kitts and Nevis 1997 Group Stage 2 0 0 2 1 5 0
JamaicaTrinidad and Tobago 1998 Fourth Place 5 2 0 3 11 9 6
Trinidad and Tobago 1999 Did Not Qualify
Trinidad and Tobago 2001 Did Not Qualify
Barbados 2005 Did Not Qualify
Trinidad and Tobago 2007 Did Not Qualify
Jamaica 2008 Group Stage 3 0 2 1 3 6 2
Martinique 2010 Group Stage 3 1 0 2 2 4 3
Antigua and Barbuda 2012 Group Stage 3 1 0 2 3 3 3
Jamaica 2014 Group Stage 3 0 1 2 2 7 1
United States 2017 Did Not Qualify
Appearances: 8/18 Best: Fourth Place 25 5 4 16 27 51 19
***Red border color indicates that Antigua and Barbuda was the host nation.

Asterisk indicates that the Caribbean Cup will be hosted by the United States, a non-CFU member.[6]

Key

  Champion   Runners-up   3rd Place   4th Place   Qualified

Honours

Regional Competition

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up by head coach Rolston Williams for a International Friendly versus Estonia.[7] Caps and goals updated as October 8, 2016 after match against Puerto Rico.

Match Dates:
November 22 2016
Opposition:
 Estonia

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Darvick Lockhart (1994-10-14) 14 October 1994 1 0 Antigua and Barbuda Piggotts Bullets
1GK Prince Walter (1995-06-30) 30 June 1995 0 0 Antigua and Barbuda Old Road
1GK Zeon Armstrong (1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 0 0 Antigua and Barbuda Glanvilles
1GK Samuel Watley (1994-05-17) 17 May 1994 0 0 Antigua and Barbuda Glanvilles
2DF Akeem Thomas (1990-01-05) 5 January 1990 50 2 Antigua and Barbuda Parham
2DF Shavorn Phillip (1996-09-09) 9 September 1996 2 0 Antigua and Barbuda Liberta
2DF Troy Dublin (1990-09-28) 28 September 1990 2 0 Antigua and Barbuda All Saints United
2DF Vashami Allen (1997-01-01) 1 January 1997 1 0 Antigua and Barbuda All Saints United
2DF Mervyn Hazelwood (1991-12-06) 6 December 1991 1 0 Antigua and Barbuda Tryum
2DF Jamarlie Stevens (1997-04-20) 20 April 1997 2 0 Antigua and Barbuda Swetes
3MF Tamarley Thomas (1983-07-28) 28 July 1983 57 11 Antigua and Barbuda Greenbay Hoppers
3MF Randolph Burton (1987-01-14) 14 January 1987 37 12 Antigua and Barbuda Parham
3MF Eugene Kirwan (1993-01-01) 1 January 1993 9 0 Antigua and Barbuda Greenbay Hoppers
3MF Avier Christian (1996-01-16) 16 January 1996 1 0 Antigua and Barbuda Liberta
3MF Novelle Francis (1993-03-10) 10 March 1993 2 0 Antigua and Barbuda Greenbay Hoppers
3MF Deny Henry (1997-06-15) 15 June 1997 0 0 Antigua and Barbuda Parham
4FW Peter Byers (1984-10-20) 20 October 1984 75 40 Antigua and Barbuda SAP
4FW Stefan Smith (1989-08-11) 11 August 1989 17 1 Antigua and Barbuda Old Road
4FW Tevaughn Harriette (1995-06-26) 26 June 1995 16 5 Antigua and Barbuda Parham
4FW Javorn Stevens (1998-05-09) 9 May 1998 5 1 Antigua and Barbuda Greenbay Hoppers

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Antigua and Barbuda squad within the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Brentton Muhammad (1990-09-11) 11 September 1990 13 0 Iceland Tindastóll v.  Puerto Rico; 8 Oct 2016
GK Eric Klenofsky (1994-09-21) 21 September 1994 0 0 United States New York Red Bulls U-23 v.  Curaçao; 5 Oct 2016 DEC [8]
GK Molvin James (1989-05-04) 4 May 1989 34 0 Antigua and Barbuda Parham v.  Saint Kitts and Nevis; 29 Mar 2016
DF Quinton Griffith (1992-02-27) 27 February 1992 50 5 United States Charleston Battery v.  Puerto Rico; 8 Oct 2016
DF Zaine Francis-Angol (1993-06-30) 30 June 1993 18 0 England Kidderminster Harriers v.  Puerto Rico; 8 Oct 2016
DF Connor Peters (1996-06-21) 21 June 1996 13 0 England Braintree Town v.  Puerto Rico; 8 Oct 2016
DF Mahlon Romeo (1995-09-19) 19 September 1995 8 0 England Millwall v.  Puerto Rico; 8 Oct 2016
DF Courtney Wildin (1996-03-30) 30 March 1996 4 0 England Boston United v.  Puerto Rico; 8 Oct 2016
DF Blaize Punter (1996-12-26) 26 December 1996 1 0 England Quorn v.  Puerto Rico; 8 Oct 2016
DF Aaron Tumwa (1993-09-23) 23 September 1993 8 1 England Margate v.  Grenada; 6 Jun 2016
DF Karanja Mack (1987-08-24) 24 August 1987 41 0 Antigua and Barbuda SAP v.  Saint Kitts and Nevis; 29 Mar 2016
MF Calaum Jahraldo-Martin (1993-04-27) 27 April 1993 18 3 England Oldham Athletic v.  Puerto Rico; 8 Oct 2016
MF Rhys Browne (1995-11-16) 16 November 1995 6 0 England Grimsby Town v.  Puerto Rico; 8 Oct 2016
MF Duran Martin (1996-03-11) 11 March 1996 5 0 England Corby Town v.  Puerto Rico; 8 Oct 2016
MF Keiran Murtagh (1988-10-29) 29 October 1988 22 5 England Woking v.  Curaçao; 5 Oct 2016 WTD
MF Joshua Parker (1990-12-01) 1 December 1990 24 4 unattached v.  Grenada; 6 Jun 2016
MF Adriel Jared George (1996-12-06) 6 December 1996 1 1 unattached v.  Saint Kitts and Nevis; 29 Mar 2016
FW Dexter Blackstock (1986-05-20) 20 May 1986 6 2 England Rotherham United v.  Curaçao; 5 Oct 2016 INJ
FW Nathaniel Jarvis (1991-10-20) 20 October 1991 8 2 England Hungerford Town v.  Saint Kitts and Nevis; 29 Mar 2016

Coaches

Coaching history

These are some of the head coaches of the Antigua and Barbuda national football team throughout the years.

Past and Present Coaches

References

External links

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