Belice falls short in Copa Centroamericana

Belice lost 1-0 this weekend against Honduras, finishing as the runner-up in the 2017 Copa Centroamericana, a tournament in which El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua also participate. Guatemala was unable to compete in this competition due to a FIFA-imposed suspension at the international level.

On the other hand, Belice is ranked as the 128th team in the FIFA rankings. In the Concacaf qualifiers, the Central American team only reached the third phase, being eliminated by Canada with an aggregate score of 4-1. This means they missed the opportunity to go to the World Cup again (Russia 2018).

The same happened in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where Belice advanced to the second phase, being placed in Group 4. However, they couldn't continue in the qualifiers, as they only obtained a total of seven points from the six matches played, with two wins, one draw, and three losses.

Copa Oro

Their first participation in the Concacaf tournament was in 2013 after qualifying in the top five positions of the Copa Centroamericana of that same year. However, on their debut, Belice was thrashed 6-1 by the United States, one of the tournament favorites. In their following matches, they were defeated by Costa Rica and Cuba, both matches ending with a 1-0 score and a 4-0 score, respectively.

Copa Centroamericana

The best performance of the Belizean team has been in the Copa Centroamericana, as they surprised the other participants by reaching the final of the tournament in 2017, where they lost 1-0 against Honduras.

Prior to this competition, in 2013, they had their first significant fight in this tournament, reaching the semifinals but being defeated by the current champion of the Copa Centroamericana. In their fight for third place, Belice lost 1-0 against El Salvador.

In 2014, the team, led by Brazilian coach Jorge Nunez, was eliminated in the group stage without scoring any points.

Richard Orlowski, current coach of Belice

The Polish coach has had a no less exotic career than the Belizean team, as he only has experience as an assistant coach for Nepal and as the coach of the Anguilla national team.

Top scorer of Belice

Deon McCaulay, forward for Verdes FC, made history with the Belizean team during the qualifying stage for the 2014 World Cup, as he became the top scorer with 11 goals. He has scored a total of 17 goals for his national team.

Liga Premier Belice

Currently, Belice has a professional football league called Liga Premier Belice, in which nine teams compete. These teams are Belmopan Bandits, Belize Defence Force, Police United, FC Belize, Placencia Assassins, Verdes FC, Wagiya, Paradise Freedom Fighters, and Orange Walk.