Benjamin Monterroso (right) at a Guatemala women's training session on October 14, 2014. (Photo: Rafael Cañas)
KANSAS CITY, Kansas – Hours before Guatemala opens its 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship campaign, head coach Benjamin Monterroso expressed his optimism that an extensive preparation program will serve his team well.
Monterroso is confident that a 12-day training camp in the United States has sharpened the Bicolor’s tactical and physical features.
In Wednesday’s tournament curtain-raiser, Guatemala will meet Group A rival Haiti at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
"We’ve gained a lot of the tactical cohesion,” said Monterroso. “The lines understand what we want in each of the games. Our physical condition has improved. There was a lot of high intensity work. Those were the two factors that we came to perfect in the camp. "
The experienced coach, who also leads Unifut in the Guatemalan National Women’s League, sees his players’ skill level as a primary strength.
"(The players) have an extraordinary technical wealth, it is one of our main weapons,” noted the 62-year-old. “We are going to try to keep possession of the ball.”
Father of team members Coralia and Maria, Monterroso admitted that it will not be easy to beat Haiti. They met four years ago in the same competition, a 1-0 win for the Haitians on a first-half goal.
"We have emphasized to the middle that they (Haiti) have players who can shoot,” noted the former Guatemala men’s national team head coach. “There are some Haitian players who have good height.”
At the end of the day, though, Guatemala’s objective is simply to qualify for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“The team knows that it has the weapons to fight,” Monterroso finished. “Our goal is to rank among the top three in order to go the World Cup.”