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VIDEO: PANAMA CITY, Panama -- Ahead of his team'supcoming pairof World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador, Guyana captain Christopher Nurse declared that atmosphere and the level of home support could play deciding roles in the outcome of both games.
Speaking from the Guyanese training camp in Panama, Nurse -- winner of 13 caps since making his debut in 2008 -- joined the Guyana Football Federation in encouraging the nation to support its team by filling Providence Stadium at least one hour prior to the start of its Sept. 11 home game against the Salvadorans.
"All the players certainly agree that atmosphere can make the big difference at this level of football, we need the support for our team and our players," said Nurse, who plays his club football with the Puerto Rico Islanders. "However regardless of this, we will go out and play our best to make those who support us proud and by god's grace we will be victorious come the end of 90 minutes."
The central midfielder is certainly proud that Guyana has progressed to this standard of international football, but realizes that the national team still has much to learn. That education process will be accelerated on Friday during the "series" opener at San Salvador's Estadio Cuscatlan, one of the toughest places to play in Central America.
"We have come a long way as a footballing nation to be competing at this level and we are by no means out of our depth," commented the England-born Nurse. "For every experience the team is growing stronger.
"Defeat is never the desired outcome, however, some of the best lessons are learned in defeat, they make you stronger going forward. The future for the national team is very bright as long as the support and belief remains strong."
Though the 28-year old is the national skipper, he notes that one of the squad's strengths is that all eleven players on the pitch possess leadership qualities.
"Being named skipper has no bearing, there are 11 experienced professionals on the field each with their own leadership techniques and with loud voices. This has been one of the team strengths is the number of leaders that we have within the squad. The fight will always be present amongst this team, as long as we remain unified and together, the task before us is in our own hands. We believe in one another as players and staff," he stated.
When asked what he hopes the team will accomplish during its final preparations before traveling to El Salvador, Nurse elaborated: "We will obviously work on the tactical element, and the disciplines we are to execute as part of the game plan. But it is also a chance to bond as a team, because the more unified and the better the team spirit is in camp, that is what we will carry onto the field. So it is a chance for team bonding and listening and executing the desired game plan going forward."
With only a single Group B point acquired between Guyana and El Salvador after two games each, there is much to play for in their first-ever meeting and, perhaps, even more to learn.