The Gwada Boys Return to Winning Ways

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The Gwada Boys Return to Winning Ways

Apr 07, 2025

After a rather mediocre Nations League campaign, which culminated in a return to League B, the Gwada Boys secured a spot in the new Gold Cup campaign against Nicaragua.

Disappointed by their team’s inability to remain in League A after a poor season in the Nations League, the Guadeloupeans didn’t have high hopes for these preliminaries. Facing them was the Nicaraguan national team, a serious contender also seeking redemption in this competition.

“During the last Gold Cup season, we were sanctioned by CONCACAF, which forced us to return to League B. We want our players to have a spirit of revenge and show that our country belongs in the Gold Cup race,” the coach explained.

Against a Guadeloupe team that had demonstrated its ability to raise its level of play, the Nicaraguan team sought to implement a strategy based on attack and quick connections between players to maintain pressure in both matches.

Two Failures

But on the field, a completely different story unfolded. The Guadeloupean team, after more than five years of applying the Angloma method, played its defensive game brilliantly.

Determined to earn a spot in the Gold Cup, the team kept their defense intact throughout both matches, always finding a weakness in their opponent and capitalizing on it with a decisive goal.

“They’re a strong team, and to face them, I asked the players to adopt a warrior mentality. I also asked them to increase their goal-scoring record. We haven’t achieved that yet, but we’ll keep working on it,” commented Jocelyn Angloma.

It’s worth mentioning that the Nicaraguans completely failed. Despite dominating possession, they failed to execute a solid offensive plan. While they started strongly, their play declined as the minutes passed. They lost both matches 1-0 without putting up much of a fight.

It’s over for Figueroa

After this performance, Marco Antonio Figueroa held nothing back.

“The players didn’t honor the work we’ve done over the last three years. This match doesn’t reflect that at all. We’ve faced teams that demanded a great physical effort from us, and each time we showed more character. But this time, we weren’t good,” he admitted.

However, his frustration wasn’t enough to save his job. The overall outcome of these qualifiers was disastrous for the Blue and White team. They were eliminated from the Gold Cup, falling in the CONCACAF standings, which led the fans to demand, and achieve, Figueroa’s dismissal. Now, it’s up to Argentine coach José Giacone to rebuild the team from the ashes.

By: Priscilla Romain, CCS Guadalupe Correspondent

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