KANSAS CITY, Kansas.- Martinique has advanced out of the Gold Cup group stage only once in six tries, but it isn't a side opposing teams can take lightly.
Martinique has more than held its own against some of the top teams in the competition. It beat Canada in 2013 and gave the USA a tough 3-2 test in 2017. Les Matinino also took Mexico to the wire in their 2019 clash, suffering a 3-2 defeat in Group A. Martinique usually wins at least one game in group play, so even when it doesn’t advance, it has an impact on who does. It has played spoiler on more than one occasion.
Coach Mario Bocaly, who was in charge of the team in 2019 in that dramatic matchup with El Tri, now has the team focused on the United States, hoping to rebound from their 4-1 loss to Canada.
“To win, we have to improve on defense,” Bocaly told Concacaf.com. “We struggled with that against Canada. That’s the solution to advance.”
Martinique got off to a bright spot against the Canadians, seeing a opener from Emmanuel Rivière in the 10th minute. Unfortunately, that 1-0 would be short-lived as Canada would go off for four consecutive goals. Bocaly wants to ensure that doesn't happen against the Stars and Stripes.
“In almost 15, 20 minutes, we were very far from the result we wanted,” Bocaly explained. “We went through a bad spell there, especially on the right. We need to be better, especially against the USA.”
Bocaly was also practical about the challenges his team faced in their Gold Cup preparation.
“We don’t have many professional players - we’re a team of mostly local players who play in Martinique,” Bocaly pointed out, noting the Covid-19 pandemic had only added more difficulties. “We haven’t played or practiced much during the pandemic. So we weren’t in rhythm. Preparation has been difficult.”
While the result against Canada was disappointing for Martinique, Bocaly wanted his players to move on.
“As a coach, I have to work and talk to the players and show them my philosophy in each training and remind them what’s possible,” Bocaly said. “We have to work together to be a strong group against the USA."
