HEREDIA, Costa Rica – The Nicaraguan National Team is staying focused on the task at hand as it prepares for Sunday’s match versus Anguilla on Matchday Two of 2019/20 Concacaf Nations League Qualifying.
The contest at the Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero in Heredia, Costa Rica will be the third meeting between the two nations in just over three years.
Back in 2015 the Pinoleros downed Anguilla 5-0 and 3-0, respectively, in the first round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying for Russia 2018.
While Nicaragua is coming off a strong 2-0 victory on the road on Matchday One versus Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla was defeated 5-0 at home against French Guiana.
Nevertheless, Nicaragua forward and captain Juan Barrera says that he and his teammates are not about to take Anguilla lightly on Sunday.
“We respect the opponent,” said Barrera to reporters on Thursday.
“We know that Anguilla is a country whose football has been evolving. They just lost by a number of goals, but equally we need to do our job and take full advantage of the errors that they commit,” added Barrera.
Currently, Nicaragua sit in 12th place in the 34-team CNL table. A win on Sunday could possibly move the Central American side into the top 10 and into 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup qualifying position with just two matchdays remaining.
While reaching a third Gold Cup is very much the primary objective of Nicaragua, Head Coach Henry Duarte remains cautious and knows that overlooking any opponent would be dangerous.
“I’m not interested in any scorelines, the most important thing is to win,” said Duarte to reporters.
