Montserrat national football team

The Montserrat national team is one of the newest in international football, having played its first senior match on 10 May 1991 during the 1991 Caribbean Cup tournament. The team suffered a 3–0 defeat against Saint Lucia. The team's next match was against Anguilla; securing a 1-1 draw. Montserrat once again entered the Caribbean Cup the following year but were once more knocked out in the group stage, with heavy defeats against Saint Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda. They were drawn against the same two teams in the 1994 Caribbean Cup, again being eliminated in the tournament's group stage, conceding 17 goals in two matches. In 1994, the Montserrat Football Association (MFA) was formed. Like all other football teams based in the Caribbean, the MFA became a member of CONCACAF.

On 26 March 1995, Montserrat played their first ever home international match. They defeated Anguilla 3–2, thus achieving their first win. The team beat Anguilla again in the next fixture to ensure progress to the Second Qualifying Round of the 1995 Caribbean Cup. The 1–0 win in the second leg was their only clean sheet in international football and their most recent victory for the next seventeen years. The side exited the competition in the next stage, losing 20–0 against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Soon afterwards, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active and the eruptions destroyed Plymouth, the capital of Montserrat, severely disrupting life on the island.[2] Despite the lack of football action, the MFA became a member of FIFA in 1996. However, it was a further three years before the Montserrat team played another match. This was mostly because many of the island's footballers had emigrated from the area, many of them to England.[2]

After a four-year hiatus, the team entered the 1999 Caribbean Nations Cup. They were knocked out in the preliminary round of the tournament, losing 6–1 to the British Virgin Islands. Due to the volcanic activity on the island, Montserrat had been unable to enter the FIFA World Cup 1998 tournament, so their entry to the 2002 World Cup was their first; but it was not a success as they were defeated 6–1 by the Dominican Republic. In 2001, the MFA visited The Football Association to raise money for a new stadium. Shortly affer this the Blakes Estate Stadium was opened. The team's next match was on 30 June 2002, the day of the World Cup Final, when Montserrat played Bhutan in a game known as "The Other Final". The friendly match between the two lowest-ranked teams in the world ended with a 4–0 win for Bhutan in front of 15,000 fans in Thimphu.

Montserrat entered the World Cup qualifiers once more for the 2006 competition, but again lost in the first qualifying round, this time losing 20–0 against Bermuda. Montserrat then competed in the 2005 Caribbean Cup, but once more failed to progress past the preliminary round. In 2008, they were defeated 7–1 by Suriname in the first qualifying round of the 2010 World Cup.

The team played a friendly match against a Network Rail XI on May 19, 2012, ending in a 4–4 draw.

Montserrat achieved their first victory since 1995 and their first ever victory since joining FIFA, beating the British Virgin Islands 7–0 in a 2012 Caribbean Championship qualifying match.

Montserrat's fortunes changed dramatically in 2018 with the arrival of Willie Donachie and the launch of the CONCACAF Nations League.[2] The side won three of their four qualifying games, but missed out on qualification for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup on goal difference. The team went on to take second place in their group in the inaugural season with two wins, draws, and losses each, thus keeping their place in the second tier.

Following Willie Donachie, in 2022 Matt Lockwood took over for a spell as head coach and technical director, supported in March 2023 by assistant coaches Craig Easton and David Preece.[3][4] Just Months later 8th September Lee Bowyer took over as the Montserrat manager and Steve Gallen is the assistant, in their first game they beat Barbados with a 99th minute winner to go second in their Concacaf Nations League group.

Due to the team's poor results, they have often been at the lower end of the FIFA World Rankings. The loss to Bhutan in "The Other Final" saw them fall to 203rd in the rankings, becoming the worst-ranked side in the world. After the addition of another two teams to FIFA, Montserrat achieved a new low of 205th between July and October 2004. In July 2006, they achieved a record high rank of 196th, but then fell to 198th the following month. Success in the qualifying tournament for the CONCACAF Nations League and the first edition of the league proper saw them rise to 184th.[5]

The team have also languished in the lower reaches of the unofficial World Football Elo Ratings, which ranks teams directly based on their match results.

Since the team's first match in 1991, Montserrat have usually worn a first-choice kit of green, either plain green[6] or green and white hoops.[7] Currently, the away kit is a red jersey, shorts and socks.

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

2023

Montserrat  v  Haiti

25 March 2022–23 Nations League	Montserrat	0–4	Haiti	Lookout, Montserrat
17:00 UTC−4		Report	Nazon 49' Pierrot 60' Etienne 70' Prunier 84'	Stadium: Blakes Estate Stadium Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

Guyana  v  Montserrat

28 March 2022–23 Nations League	Guyana	0–0	Montserrat	Wildey, Barbados
19:00 UTC−4		Report		Stadium: Wildey Turf Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)

Barbados  v  Montserrat

8 September 2023–24 Nations League	Barbados	2–3	Montserrat	Wildey, Barbados
19:00 UTC−4	Downey 8' Gale 26'	Report	Taylor 6', 90+8' Codrington 81' (o.g.)	Stadium: Wildey Turf Referee: Ken Pennyfeather (Antigua and Barbuda)

Dominican Republic  v  Montserrat

11 September 2023–24 Nations League	Dominican Republic	3–0	Montserrat	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
19:00 UTC−4	Dorsett 3' (o.g.) Romero 25', 64'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)

Montserrat  v  Nicaragua

13 October 2023–24 Nations League	Montserrat	0–3	Nicaragua	Wildey, Barbados
15:00 UTC−4		Report	Pérez 5' Medina 72' Montes 90+4'	Stadium: Wildey Turf Referee: Jorge Leira (Panama)

Nicaragua  v  Montserrat

16 October 2023–24 Nations League	Nicaragua	3–0	Montserrat	Managua, Nicaragua
20:00 UTC−6	Pérez 38' Coronel 43' Moldskred Belli 48'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol Referee: José Valladares (Honduras)

The following players were called up to the squad for the 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League B matches against Nicaragua on 13 and 17 October 2023.[10]

Caps and goals correct as of 17 October 2023, after the game against Nicaragua.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Corrin Brooks-Meade	(1988-03-19) 19 March 1988	19	0	Unattached
13	1GK	Kymani Nelson	(2004-03-04) 4 March 2004	6	0	Bush Hill Rangers
5	2DF	Joey Taylor	(1997-08-18) 18 August 1997	21	1	Chatham Town
6	2DF	Nico Gordon	(2002-04-28) 28 April 2002	4	0	Solihull Moors
14	2DF	Vashirn Roache	(2005-07-07) 7 July 2005	0	0	Hartpury College
16	2DF	Lucas Kirnon	(2003-10-25) 25 October 2003	6	0	Garstang
19	2DF	Jeriel Dorsett	(2002-05-04) 4 May 2002	3	0	Reading
22	2DF	Craig Braham-Barrett	(1988-09-01) 1 September 1988	24	0	Dulwich Hamlet
23	2DF	Dean Mason	(1989-02-28) 28 February 1989	26	0	Unattached
3	3MF	Lewis Duberry	(2003-03-07) 7 March 2003	7	0	Fisher
7	3MF	Kaleem Simon	(1996-07-08) 8 July 1996	12	1	Fleetwood United
10	3MF	Sydney Mendes	(2003-07-02) 2 July 2003	0	0	Unattached
11	3MF	James Comley	(1991-01-24) 24 January 1991	22	1	Hampton & Richmond Borough
18	3MF	Alex Dyer	(1990-06-11) 11 June 1990	27	0	Wealdstone
8	4FW	Bradley Woods-Garness	(1986-06-26) 26 June 1986	18	4	Tower Hamlets
9	4FW	Lyle Taylor (captain)	(1990-03-29) 29 March 1990	16	12	Unattached
12	4FW	Seigel Rodney	(2003-10-02) 2 October 2003	3	0	Gloucester City AFC
17	4FW	Adrian Clifton	(1988-12-12) 12 December 1988	21	7	Dulwich Hamlet

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the Montserrat squad in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Josiah Persaud	(2003-12-24) 24 December 2003	0	0	Unattached	v.  Dominican Republic, 12 September 2023
DF	Jernade Meade	(1992-10-15) 15 October 1992	6	0	Tonbridge Angels	v.  Dominican Republic, 12 September 2023
DF	Nathan Pond	(1985-01-05) 5 January 1985	13	2	Fleetwood Town	v.  Guyana, 29 March 2023
MF	Brandon Barzey	(1999-07-27) 27 July 1999	7	0	Dartford	v.  Dominican Republic, 12 September 2023
FW	Massiah McDonald	(1990-08-20) 20 August 1990	14	0	Rugby Town	v.  Dominican Republic, 12 September 2023
FW	Jamie Allen	(1995-05-25) 25 May 1995	11	0	Curzon Ashton	v.  Dominican Republic, 12 September 2023
FW	Jermahri Meade	(2004-11-13) 13 November 2004	0	0	Hartpury College	v.  Dominican Republic, 12 September 2023
FW	Spencer Weir-Daley	(1985-09-05) 5 September 1985	18	3	Anstey Nomads	v.  Guyana, 29 March 2023
FW	Dominic Richmond	(2006-03-18) 18 March 2006	1	0	Fleetwood Town	v.  Guyana, 29 March 2023

As of 17 October 2023[11]

Players in bold are still active with Montserrat.

Most appearances

Dean Mason was previously Montserrat's most capped player with 24 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Alex Dyer	27	0	2011–present
2	Dean Mason	26	0	2012–present
3	Craig Braham-Barrett	24	0	2018–present
4	James Comley	22	1	2015–present
5	Adrian Clifton	21	7	2015–present
	Joey Taylor	21	1	2018–present
7	Corrin Brooks-Meade	19	0	2015–present
8	Spencer Weir-Daley	18	3	2015–present
	Bradley Woods-Garness	18	4	2012–present
10	Michael Williams	17	0	2014–present

Top goalscorers

Lyle Taylor is Montserrat's top scorer with 12 goals.

#	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Lyle Taylor	12	16	0.75	2015–present
2	Adrian Clifton	7	21	0.33	2015–present
3	Jay'lee Hodgson	4	7	0.57	2011–2014
	Bradley Woods-Garness	4	18	0.22	2012–present
5	Vladimir Farrell	3	12	0.25	2000–2010
	Spencer Weir-Daley	3	18	0.17	2015–present
7	Marlon Campbell	2	3	0.67	2012
	Ellis Remy	2	6	0.33	2010–2014
	Nathan Pond	2	13	0.15	2019–present

As of 24 March 2021[12]

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	% Won
Anguilla	4	2	1	1	6	7	−1	50%
Antigua and Barbuda	4	0	1	3	6	20	−14	0%
Aruba	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100%
Barbados	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0%
Belize	3	1	0	2	4	8	−4	33%
Bermuda	2	0	0	2	0	20	−20	0%
Bhutan	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	0%
Bonaire	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%
British Virgin Islands	3	1	0	2	8	6	+2	33%
Cayman Islands	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	100%
Curaçao	2	0	1	1	3	4	−1	0%
Dominican Republic	4	1	1	2	3	7	−4	25%
El Salvador	4	0	1	3	2	6	−4	0%
Martinique	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0%
Saint Kitts and Nevis	4	0	0	4	2	29	−27	0%
Saint Lucia	3	1	1	1	2	4	−2	33%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3	0	0	3	0	27	−27	0%
Suriname	2	0	0	2	2	14	−12	0%
U.S. Virgin Islands	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
Total	45	9	7	29	45	167	−122	20%

Note: teams in italic are not FIFA members.

• RSSSF archive of Montserrat national team results
• National Football Teams
• Guardian article which refers to Montserrat's 2012 match against a Network Rail XI