In May 1991, Saint Lucia lost to Jamaica in the semifinals of the Caribbean Cup. Had they won, they would have advanced to the first ever edition of the Concacaf Gold Cup.

More than 30 years later, Saint Lucia are putting the what-could-have-beens to rest and are headed to Fort Lauderdale for their debut on Concacaf’s biggest stage.

After a Concacaf Nations League campaign that saw them progress through League C with a perfect record, they’ll be matched up with Martinique in the first round of the Gold Cup Prelims. Martinique, regular participants at the Gold Cup who have a proven track record of causing headaches for even the best teams in the region, will be a tall mountain to climb for Saint Lucia.

But there are reasons to be optimistic. Saint Lucia have won five of their last six matches under coach Stern John, with the lone exception being a 1-1 draw with San Marino in a friendly last fall.

Captain Kurt Frederick led the team with three goals during the Nations League; not a bad haul for a defender. Andrus Remy and Gregson President also netted two goals each. That triad, along with Jevick Mac Farlane (one goal, one assist) proved to be the most dangerous members of the squad.

And the new-look Saint Lucia side has a suffocating brand of defense; they conceded just twice during the Nations League. Combine that with a calculated, possession-oriented attack and it’s easy to see why goalkeeper Vino Barclett led the team with just three saves. Shot opportunities against this team are hard to come by.

It is an approach that has been proven to work in tournament settings all over the world, and certainly recent results suggest that Saint Lucia are a capable side. Win or lose, you can expect a good, hard-fought performance from them.

Their first match against Martinique will take place on June 16. The winner will go on to play the winner of Suriname/Puerto Rico, with the winner of that match qualifying to the main tournament in Group C.