HOUSTON, Texas – If it is a Concacaf national team tournament and Guadeloupe is involved, there is a pretty good bet that Matthias Phaeton is going to score.
Such is the prolific return of the 23-year-old FW for Les Gwada Boys, who scored a pair of goals on Saturday evening to lead Guadeloupe to a commanding 4-1 win over Cuba.
In his young international career, Phaeton already has amassed seven goals in just 15 Concacaf games. In the 2021 Gold Cup, he scored three goals, two in the Prelims and one in the group stage, to finish that tournament as Guadeloupe’s top scorer.
Phaeton then added another goal in Guadeloupe’s League B group in the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League to help the Caribbean side clinch a spot in the 2023 Gold Cup Prelims.
Last month at the Prelims in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Phaeton added another goal to help Guadeloupe advance to the group stage.
Now, after his brace against the Cubans, Phaeton has lifted Guadeloupe to the top of the table in Group D with four points and just a single match remaining.
“It’s a really good victory. It’s important to win because the team wanted to be in first place. We have a last game against Guatemala, who have a lot of fans, so we will need to be ready,” said Phaeton in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.
Houston’s Shell Energy Stadium, in particular, has become one of Phaeton’s most favorite venues. In the team’s group stage finale in the 2021 tournament, he scored the lone Guadeloupe goal in a 2-1 defeat against Suriname.
His brace on Saturday now gives him three in the home of MLS side Houston Dynamo. Not only is he enjoying scoring goals in Houston, but he does so in dazzling style, with both his strikes on Saturday coming on right-footed rockets.
“I’m very happy to win and to score, but we are not finished. It’s important to the team, the competition is long and so we have a ways to go. This group has a lot of quality. It’s a young group and so we have to have to keep working hard in training,” said Phaeton.
Phaeton’s performance also has Guadeloupe on the precipice of a first knockout round appearance in the Gold Cup since 2009. For Phaeton, there is no better thrill than to bring joy to his home country.
“It’s very important for the country. It’s a little country, but it’s a beautiful country and so winning for the country is very beautiful,” concluded Phaeton.
