A tough night for the Senior Men’s National Football Team, as they were on the wrong end of a beat-down going
down to the Dominican Republic in their final match in the Concacaf Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo.
Dominica entered the match [on] the heels of an emphatic 3-nil win over the British Virgin Islands the week before at Windsor Park, but it was the home team that dominated the match from the get-go.
The Dominican Republic who are preparing to face Mexico this weekend in the Gold Cup showed their class as [they] jumped to the early lead and never looked back.
The Dominica team [was] down 4-nil at half time. Coach Ellington Sabin made some tactical adjustments and Dominica came out a better team in the 2nd half, but the damage was already done.
The boys from the Nature Isle went down 5-nil in the end. The home team dominated the game with 65.9% of the possession, compared to Dominica’s 34.1%.
They also managed 38 attempts at goal with 18 shots on target compared to Dominica’s 4 total shots on goal.
The loss meant that Dominica finished 4th in Group E on 3 points. The Group was won by Jamaica who ended with 12 points, Guatemala finished 2nd on 9 points, the Dominican Republic 3rd on 6 points, Dominica 4th on 3 points and the BVI 5th on 0 points.
With a population of around 70,000, it was always going to be a monumental task for Dominica to qualify for a FIFA world cup finals.
Reaching a FIFA finals is not like the proverbial dollar and a dream lottery game. Any serious aspiring contender will require a deep talent pool and deeper pockets to progress through qualification.
That being said, I am very proud of our fellas and the good effort they put forth on the pitch while displaying an admirable “Little engine that could” attitude and mindset.
I wish each and everyone of the players and coaches all the best on and off the pitch.