CHESTER, Pa.— Philadelphia Union midfielder Warren Creavalle and his international teammates from Guyana went into Saturday needing a win to qualify for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup.
After 90 minutes of play in Guyana, Creavalle and his teammates were celebrating the nation’s first berth in an international tournament.
“For us, it was a bit extra special because Guyana has never been to a major tournament,” Creavalle said at Union training on Wednesday.
“It was surreal,” Creavalle said. “Just from all the fans coming down on the field with us and celebrating. Teammates crying, and I mean ugly crying too. It was really special.”
Creavalle entered the contest against Belize in the 67th minute, and he helped Guyana finish off a 2-1 victory against a Belize team that was also in the mix to qualify for the Gold Cup.
“I don’t know if it’s pressure as much as desire,” Creavalle said. “It’s somewhere the country has never been before, a major tournament. There was a lot of desire and want in the group to make that happen.”
“Belize were in a similar position,” Creavalle said. “They had to win to go through as well so both teams had to go for it.”
Now the focus for Guyana turns to the competition in June, and Creavalle believes the team can give anyone a run for its money.
“Nobody’s counting on us to do anything,” Creavalle said. “I think we have a group that can definitely make some noise. We’re not going to be happy just with making it. We’re all competitors. We want to win.”
In addition to qualifying for the Gold Cup, Guyana landed in Group B of the Concacaf Nations League alongside nations like Jamaica, Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Guyana will learn its Gold Cup fate during the April 10 draw, and Creavalle wouldn’t mind seeing his club teammates on either Jamaica or the United States in the group stage.
“It would be happy to see them,” Creavalle said. “We owe Jamaica one.”