Belize national football team facts for kids
Nickname(s) | The Jaguars The Unbelizeables |
||
---|---|---|---|
Association | Football Federation of Belize (FFB) | ||
Confederation | CONCACAF (North America) | ||
Sub-confederation | UNCAF (Central America) | ||
Head coach | Carlos Slusher | ||
Captain | Charles Tillett | ||
Most caps | Deon McCaulay (63) | ||
Top scorer | Deon McCaulay (28) | ||
Home stadium | FFB Stadium | ||
FIFA code | BLZ | ||
|
|||
FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 160 (7 February 2019) | ||
Highest | 114 (April–June 2016) | ||
Lowest | 201 (November 2007 – January 2008) | ||
Elo ranking | |||
Current | 169 1 (3 March 2019) | ||
Highest | 166 (September 2018) | ||
Lowest | 189 (January 2008) | ||
First international | |||
British Honduras 1–0 Honduras (British Honduras; 19 February 1928) as Belize El Salvador 3–0 Belize (San Salvador, El Salvador; 29 November 1995) |
|||
Biggest win | |||
Belize 7–1 Nicaragua (Belize City, Belize; 17 April 2002) |
|||
Biggest defeat | |||
Costa Rica 7–0 Belize (San José, Costa Rica; 17 March 1999) Mexico 7–0 Belize (Monterrey, Mexico; 21 June 2008) |
|||
Gold Cup | |||
Appearances | 1 (first in 2013) | ||
Best result | Group stage (2013) |
The Belize national football team represents Belize in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belize, a member of the Central American Football Union of CONCACAF.
Although Belize has never qualified for a FIFA World Cup tournament, it has once qualified for a CONCACAF Gold Cup championship in 2013, in which they were eliminated in the group stage. Belize has also competed in the sub-regional Central American Cup championship in which their best result was fourth place in 2013. The nickname for the players of the national team is the "Jaguars".
Contents
History
Overview
Named British Honduras whilst under British colonial rule, the country's first international game came on February 19, 1928, beating Honduras 1–0. Following independence, Belize's first game came on December 8, 1983, in a 2–0 loss against Canada in Belize. Although Belize gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1981 (and many of the UK's current colonies have international teams), Belize did not begin to regularly play international football until 1995. It made its debut at the 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup and was eliminated in the first round after losing to El Salvador and Costa Rica.
Belize has never qualified for the World Cup but finished fourth in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana. Their fourth-place finish in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana gave Belize its first qualification to a major international competition, that being the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
June 2011 suspension by FIFA
On June 15, 2011, Belize kicked off its 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign against minnows Montserrat, winning 2–5 away in a match played in the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad. However, the return which was scheduled for June 19 was postponed by FIFA when they suspended the FFB due to governmental interference.
Team image
In February 2023 the Football Federation of Belize unveiled a new logo that would represent Belize’s national teams. Created by Rolando Ramirez, the new logo prominently features a Jaguar, the nickname of the team. The FFB hoped that the new image would promote unity and pride in the Belize football community.
Rivalries
The Belizean footballers often say that their rivals is the Guatemalan national team
Stadium
FFB Stadium in Belmopan is the home stadium for the Belize national football team. Prior to this stadium, Belize had no facilities that met FIFA specifications. Apart from this Belize has many fields to play on but with no facilities for the players.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
2024
Friendly 21 March | Belize | 1–1 | Puerto Rico | Belmopan, Belize | ||
19:30 UTC−6 | https://www.breakingbelizenews.com/2024/03/21/belize-draw-1-1-with-puerto-rico-in-international-friendly-in-belmopan/ | Stadium: FFB Stadium |
||||
Friendly 24 March | Belize | 3–0 | Puerto Rico | Belmopan, Belize | ||
18:00 UTC−6 | https://www.breakingbelizenews.com/2024/03/24/belize-crush-puerto-rico-3-0-in-2nd-friendly-match-in-belmopan/ | Stadium: FFB Stadium |
||||
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 8 June | Belize | 0–4 | Nicaragua | Belmopan, Belize | ||
20:00 UTC−6 | https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288301/288302/400017760 | Stadium: FFB Field Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala) |
||||
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 11 June | Guyana | 3–1 | Belize | Wildey, Barbados | ||
18:00 UTC−4 | https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288301/288302/400017755 | Stadium: Wildey Turf Referee: Reon Radix (Grenada) |
||||
2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League 7 September | Turks and Caicos Islands | 0–4 | Belize | Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands | ||
15:00 UTC−4 | https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=740620 | Stadium: TCIFA National Academy Referee: Cleon Culley (Barbados) |
||||
2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League 10 September | Belize | 1–0 | Anguilla | Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands | ||
15:00 UTC−4 | Polanco 27' | https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=740645 | Stadium: TCIFA National Academy Referee: Steffon Dewar (Jamaica) |
|||
2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League 9 October | Anguilla | 0–1 | Belize | Belmopan, Belize | ||
20:00 UTC−6 | https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=740665 | Stadium: FFB Stadium Attendance: 522 Referee: Ray Torres (Puerto Rico) |
||||
2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League 15 October | Belize | 3–0 | Turks and Caicos Islands | Belmopan, Belize | ||
20:00 UTC−6 | https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=740678 | Stadium: FFB Stadium Referee: Victor Rivas (United States) |
||||
2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification play-in 14 November | Belize | 2–1 | French Guiana | Belmopan, Belize | ||
19:00 UTC−6 |
|
https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=755516 | Stadium: FFB Stadium Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica) |
|||
2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification play-in 19 November | French Guiana | v | Belize | Paramaribo, Suriname | ||
20:00 UTC−3 | Stadium: Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadion |
|||||
2025
2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification March | Belize | v | Costa Rica | Belize | ||
--:-- UTC−6 | ||||||
2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification March | Costa Rica | v | Belize | Costa Rica | ||
--:-- UTC−6 | ||||||
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 4 June | Montserrat | v | Belize | |||
https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288301/288302/400017753 | ||||||
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 7 June | Belize | v | Panama | |||
https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288301/288302/400017761 | ||||||
Coaching staff
Coaching history
Since the creation of the national team in 1995, several coaches have been in charge of managing Belize. From 1995 to 1996, Winston Michael was appointed as Belize's first ever manager. As of January 2012[update], the Belize national football team has had 11 managers.
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League C matches against Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands on 12 and 15 October 2024.
Caps and goals correct as of 15 October 2024, after the match against Turks and Caicos Islands.
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Charles Tillett | 29 July 2001 | 20 | 0 | Progresso | |
GK | Orlando Galdámez | 24 February 1992 | 0 | 0 | Atletico Belize | |
|
||||||
DF | Jaylen Lennan | 17 June 2002 | 6 | 0 | Verdes FC | |
DF | Brandon Jones | 3 July 1993 | 4 | 0 | Verdes FC | |
DF | Harlan Casanova | 2 | 0 | Progresso | ||
DF | Jordan Casanova | 30 April 2004 | 1 | 0 | Unattached | |
DF | Brandon Rogers | 0 | 0 | San Pedro Pirates | ||
|
||||||
MF | Jordy Polanco | 8 June 1996 | 30 | 6 | Verdes | |
MF | Darrel Myvette | 15 December 1993 | 22 | 0 | Verdes | |
MF | Nahjib Guerra | 18 August 1994 | 20 | 0 | Verdes | |
MF | Andir Chi | 17 November 2000 | 10 | 0 | Progresso | |
MF | Gabriel Ramos | 19 January 2000 | 6 | 0 | San Pedro Pirates | |
MF | Moisés Hernández | 26 May 1998 | 3 | 1 | San Pedro Pirates | |
MF | Ramon Ramos | 23 November 1994 | 3 | 0 | Progresso | |
MF | Naim Wilson | 5 August 1997 | 3 | 0 | Port Layola | |
MF | Freybin Pagoada | 22 March 2002 | 2 | 0 | CA Belize | |
|
||||||
FW | Krisean Lopez | 2 November 1998 | 30 | 4 | Verdes | |
FW | Michael Palacio | 15 February 2002 | 9 | 1 | Port Layola | |
FW | Orlando Velásquez | 18 December 1998 | 4 | 2 | Port Layola | |
FW | Jardehl Muschamp | 3 November 2002 | 4 | 0 | Deportes Savio | |
FW | Rene Leslie | 12 December 1999 | 2 | 0 | Port Layola | |
FW | Brian Chavez | 17 May 2005 | 0 | 0 | San Pedro Pirates |
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up within the past 12 months.
Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Woodrow West | 19 September 1985 | 46 | 0 | Verdes | v. Guyana; 12 June, 2024 |
GK | Earl Dyck | 21 October 2003 | 0 | 0 | Rising Stars | v. Anguilla; 10 September, 2024 |
|
||||||
DF | Donell Arzú | 27 September 1999 | 9 | 0 | Progresso | v. Anguilla; 10 September, 2024 |
DF | Ashley Torres | 15 September 1985 | 6 | 0 | Altitude | v. Anguilla; 10 September, 2024 |
DF | Aldin Forman | 16 March 1999 | 1 | 0 | San Pedro Pirates | v. Anguilla; 10 September, 2024 |
DF | Devin Garbutt | 5 May 2007 | 1 | 0 | Unattached | v. Anguilla; 10 September, 2024 |
DF | Richard Gillett | 0 | 0 | Progresso | v. Anguilla; 10 September, 2024 | |
DF | Everal Trapp | 22 January 1987 | 55 | 0 | Verdes | v. Guyana; 12 June, 2024 |
DF | Eugene Martínez | 20 October 1997 | 15 | 2 | LA 10 FC | v. Guyana; 12 June, 2024 |
DF | Jahron Myvette | 9 May 1995 | 7 | 0 | Verdes | v. Guyana; 12 June, 2024 |
DF | Deshawon Nembhard | 8 October 1994 | 12 | 1 | Central Valley Fuego | v. Nicaragua; 9 June, 2024 |
|
||||||
MF | Delone Torres | 14 June 1994 | 6 | 0 | Altitude | v. Anguilla; 10 September, 2024 |
MF | Warren Moss | 13 October 1999 | 13 | 1 | Indiana Tech Warriors | v. Guyana; 12 June, 2024 |
MF | Nana Mensah | 19 January 1989 | 30 | 1 | South Carolina United Heat | v. Nicaragua; 9 June, 2024 |
|
||||||
FW | Jaheim Mena | 23 February 2006 | 2 | 0 | Legends FC | v. Anguilla; 10 September, 2024 |
FW | Latrell Middleton | 3 November 1999 | 1 | 0 | Port Layola | v. Anguilla; 10 September, 2024 |
FW | Carlos Bernárdez | 28 December 1992 | 16 | 4 | Real Sociedad | v. Guyana; 12 June, 2024 |
FW | Horace Ávila | 18 September 1999 | 11 | 1 | San Pedro Pirates | v. Guyana; 12 June, 2024 |
FW | Michael Salazar | 15 November 1992 | 23 | 3 | Los Angeles Force | v. Nicaragua; 9 June, 2024 |
FW | Félix Martínez | 9 July 2005 | 1 | 1 | Verdes | v. Puerto Rico; 25 March, 2024 |
Records
- Players in bold are still active with Belize.
Most appearances
Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Career |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Deon McCaulay | 63 | 28 | 2007–2022 |
2 | Elroy Smith | 61 | 6 | 2004–2019 |
3 | Ian Gaynair | 57 | 2 | 2007–2022 |
4 | Evral Trapp | 55 | 0 | 2010–present |
5 | Woodrow West | 46 | 0 | 2008–present |
6 | Dalton Eiley | 41 | 0 | 2005–2019 |
Daniel Jiménez | 41 | 2 | 2008–2019 | |
8 | Harrison Róchez | 40 | 5 | 2004–2019 |
9 | Trevor Lennan | 37 | 1 | 2005–2019 |
10 | Elroy Kuylen | 33 | 6 | 2009–2019 |
Top goalscorers
Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Deon McCaulay | 28 | 63 | 0.44 | 2007–2022 |
2 | Carlos Bernárdez | 6 | 18 | 0.33 | 2019–present |
Jordy Polanco | 6 | 32 | 0.19 | 2015–present | |
Elroy Kuylen | 6 | 33 | 0.18 | 2009–2019 | |
Elroy Smith | 6 | 61 | 0.1 | 2004–2019 | |
6 | Dion Frazer | 5 | 8 | 0.63 | 2000–2008 |
Krisean Lopez | 5 | 32 | 0.16 | 2018–present | |
Harrison Róchez | 5 | 40 | 0.13 | 2004–2019 | |
9 | Norman Nuñez | 3 | 11 | 0.27 | 1995–2005 |
Vallan Symms | 3 | 20 | 0.15 | 2000–2011 | |
Michael Salazar | 3 | 23 | 0.13 | 2013–present |
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup | FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
1930 to 1978 | Part of United Kingdom | Part of United Kingdom | |||||||||||||
1982 and 1986 | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | |||||||||||||
1990 and 1994 | Did not enter | Declined participation | |||||||||||||
1998 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||
2002 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | |||||||||
2006 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | |||||||||
2010 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 11 | |||||||||
2014 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 13 | |||||||||
2018 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | |||||||||
2022 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||
2026 | To be determined | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||||||||
2030 | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
2034 | |||||||||||||||
Total | 0/9 | 31 | 8 | 6 | 17 | 38 | 66 |
CONCACAF Gold Cup
CONCACAF Championship & CONCACAF Gold Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
1963 | Part of United Kingdom | Part of United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||
1965 | ||||||||||||||||
1967 | ||||||||||||||||
1969 | ||||||||||||||||
1971 | ||||||||||||||||
1973 | ||||||||||||||||
1977 | ||||||||||||||||
1981 | ||||||||||||||||
1985 | Not a CONCACAF member | Not a CONCACAF member | ||||||||||||||
1989 | Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||
1991 | ||||||||||||||||
1993 | ||||||||||||||||
1996 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
1998 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
2000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | ||||||||||
2002 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||||||||||
2003 | Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||
2005 | Did not qualify | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | |||||||||
2007 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | ||||||||||
2009 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||||||||||
2011 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||||||||||
2013 | Group stage | 12th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | Squad | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | |
2015 | Did not qualify | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |||||||||
2017 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | ||||||||||
2019 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | ||||||||||
2021 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 12 | ||||||||||
2023 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 10 | ||||||||||
Total | Group stage | 1/18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | — | 49 | 5 | 5 | 39 | 34 | 100 |
CONCACAF Nations League
CONCACAF Nations League history | |
---|---|
First match | French Guiana 3–0 Belize (5 September 2019; Cayenne, French Guiana) |
Biggest win | Belize 4–0 Turks and Caicos Islands (7 September 2024; Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands) |
Biggest defeat | Saint Kitts and Nevis 4–0 Belize (10 October 2019; Belmopan, Belize) |
Best result | — |
Worst result | — |
Copa Centroamericana
The 1995 tournament in El Salvador saw Belize's international debut. They played the hosts in their first-ever international on November 29 in Group A. El Salvador won 3–0 with all goals coming in the second half. On December 1, Belize scored their first-ever international goal as they lost 2–1 to Costa Rica and were eliminated from the tournament. Both other teams advanced to the semi-finals and were defeated there, Costa Rica's conqueror Honduras beat Guatemala in the final.
Head-to-head record
Updated on 19 November 2024 after match against French Guiana
Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record
Opponent | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anguilla | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
Bahamas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
Barbados | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
Bermuda | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 |
Canada | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 14 | −13 |
Cayman Islands | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Costa Rica | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 18 | −17 |
Cuba | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 |
Dominican Republic | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
El Salvador | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 29 | −23 |
French Guiana | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 |
Grenada | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
Guatemala | 13 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 23 | −13 |
Guyana | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
Haiti | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | –2 |
Honduras | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 24 | −20 |
Jamaica | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Mexico | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | −9 |
Montserrat | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 |
Nicaragua | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 25 | –6 |
Panama | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 10 | −7 |
Puerto Rico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | –1 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | +12 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
United States | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | −5 |
Total | 118 | 31 | 22 | 65 | 124 | 216 | −92 |
See also
In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Belice para niños