Saint Kitts and Nevis national football team explained

Saint Kitts and Nevis
Badge:Saint Kitts & Nevis Football Association.svg
Badge Size:225px
Nickname:The Sugar Boyz
Association:St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association
Confederation:CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-Confederation:CFU (Caribbean)
Coach:Austin Huggins
Captain:Julani Archibald
Most Caps:Gerard Williams (85)
Top Scorer:Keith Gumbs (24)
Home Stadium:Warner Park
Fifa Trigramme:SKN
Fifa Max:73
Fifa Max Date:October 2016, March 2017
Fifa Min:176
Fifa Min Date:November 1994
Elo Max:109
Elo Max Date:1 August 2003
Elo Min:175
Elo Min Date:9 November 2008
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Largest Win: 10–0
(Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis; 17 April 1992)

(The Valley, Anguilla; 14 October 2018)
Largest Loss: 8–0
(Monterrey, Mexico; 17 November 2004)
Regional Name:CONCACAF Gold Cup
Regional Cup Apps:1
Regional Cup First:2023
Regional Cup Best:Group stage (2023)

The Saint Kitts and Nevis national football team is the national team of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and is controlled by the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association. They are affiliated to the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, however, they did qualify for their first CONCACAF Gold Cup appearance in 2023.

They are nicknamed The Sugar Boyz due to the sugar cultivation on the island of St. Kitts.

History

Beginnings (1938–1990)

Saint Kitts and Nevis played their first match on 18 August 1938, against Grenada, a match that ended in a 2–4 defeat.[1] They participated in the Leeward Islands Tournament from 1949 however had to wait until 1979 to play their first official matches, in the qualifying rounds for the 1979 CFU Championship, losing twice to Jamaica, both results finishing 2–1. They would again fail to qualify for the final phase of the 1983 CFU Championship, after advancing due to Jamaica's withdrawal, they'd be eliminated by Martinique, who won 12–0 on aggregate.

1990–2000

The Sugar Boyz qualified for their first tournament at the 1993 Caribbean Cup, defeating Dominican Republic (3–2) and British Virgin Islands (5–0) to top their qualifying group. In the tournament proper, they finished second behind Jamaica to reach the semi-finals, before losing to Martinique on penalties. In the match for third place, they were defeated 3–2 by Trinidad and Tobago. Saint Kitts and Nevis finished bottom of their group in 1996 but in the 1997 Caribbean Cup, they advanced into the knock-out after finishing level on points with both Trinidad and Tobago and Martinique, then defeated Grenada 2–1 in extra-time with both goals scored by Keith Gumbs, but they succumbed to Trinidad and Tobago 0–4 in the final. Since they'd reached the final, Saint Kitts and Nevis were entered into a play-off against Cuba – runner-up in the 1996 Caribbean Cup – for the last ticket to the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, but they lost 2–0.

Saint Kitts and Nevis participated for the first time in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. After benefiting from the withdrawal of the Bahamas, they beat Saint Lucia 5–1 in Basseterre and 1–0 in Castries, but fell in the third knockout round against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, losing thanks to the away goals rule.

2000s

In the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, after comfortably beating the Turks and Caicos Islands with an aggregate result of 14–0, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines once again dispatched the Sugar Boyz, winning both in Kingstown (1–0) as in Basseterre (1–2). However, the situation would improve in the 2006 qualifiers, since Saint Kitts and Nevis advanced to the second group phase after leaving the US Virgin Islands and Barbados on the way. They shared Group 3 with Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but as expected, finished in last place, with 6 losses in as many appearances. They also experienced the worst defeat in their history, 8–0 against Mexico. In the preliminary round for the 2010 qualifiers, they were unable to repeat what they had done four years ago and were unceremoniously eliminated by Belize, who won 4–2 on aggregate.

In the Caribbean Cup, the Sugar Boyz did not repeat the successes of the '90s and could only qualify to the final phase of the 2001 Caribbean Cup, although they did not advance beyond the group phase. They have not returned to a final phase since that edition.

2010–present

Qualifying directly to the second round of the 2014 qualifiers, Saint Kitts and Nevis was drawn in Group D along with Canada, Puerto Rico and Saint Lucia. They finished in 3rd place, with 7 points. It was only defeated by Canada in Toronto (4–0). In the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Saint Kitts and Nevis defeated the Turks and Caicos Islands in the first round by a lofty aggregate 12–4 before falling in the second phase, at the hands of El Salvador, 6–3 on aggregate, but not before obtaining a 2–2 draw at home. In November 2015, they played 2 friendlies against European teams, Andorra (1–0) and Estonia (0–3). Devaughn Elliott scored the only goal in the victory over Andorra, becoming the first St. Kitts and Nevis player to score against a European side.[2] The result was also the first away victory for a CFU team over a European side on their home soil.[3]

In October 2016, it reached its highest ranking in the FIFA world ranking (73rd place) thanks to its good performance in the 2nd round of the 2017 Caribbean Cup of Nations qualifiers. However, two defeats against French Guiana (0–1) and Haiti at home (0–2 a.e.t.) stopped the Sugar Boyz in the 3rd round of these qualifiers. The year ends with a 1–1 draw in Basseterre against Estonia on November 19, 2016, in a friendly match, one year after playing against the same team in Tallinn.

In June 2017, the team went on a second European tour and played Armenia on June 4 in Yerevan and Georgia three days later in Tbilisi. Both games ended in equally bad losses, 5–0 and 3–0, respectively. St. Kitts and Nevis continues its pattern of international tours and travels in August 2017 to Mumbai to meet Mauritius and India in a friendly tournament, the 2017 Hero Tri-Nation Series. Both matches ended in draws acquired by the same score of one goal each.

The Sugar Boyz played Andorra again on March 25, 2022, six and a half years after their first confrontation, for a friendly match in Andorra la Vella. This time the Principality's selection wins against Saint Kitts and Nevis on its home stadium (1–0).

They qualified for their first ever CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2023.

Results and fixtures

See main article: Saint Kitts and Nevis national football team results.

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2025

Coaches

Players

Current squad

Recent call ups

Player records

[5]

Players in bold are still active with Saint Kitts & Nevis.

Most appearances

RankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer
1Gerard Williams8522006–present
27612004–2021
3Julani Archibald6502008–present
4George Isaac53221996–2011
54962004–2019
647232000–2011
7Ian Lake46202002–2012
8Romaine Sawyers4562012–present
9Atiba Harris42102003–2019
10Keith Gumbs41241993–2011

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer
1Keith Gumbs24411993–2011
223472000–2011
3George Isaac22531996–2011
4Ian Lake20462002–2012
5Harry Panayiotou12382014–present
6Austin Huggins11361993–2004
7Atiba Harris10422003–2019
89262000–2011
98241993–2004
10Tiquanny Williams6162021–present
Keithroy Freeman6182016–present
Romaine Sawyers6452012–present
6492004–2019

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World CupQualification
YearRoundPosition
1930Part of United KingdomPart of United Kingdom
1934 to 1990Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member
1994Did not enterDeclined participation
1998Did not qualify422083
20024202153
2006104061826
2010201124
2014614168
201842111510
2022630388
2026To be determined210114
2030To be determined
2034
Total38158157366

CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Gold Cup record
YearRoundPositionSquad
1991Not eligible
1993Did not qualify
1996
1998
2000
2002
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
2023Group stage16th3003014Squad
TotalGroup stage1/163003014

CONCACAF Nations League

CONCACAF Nations League record
LeagueFinals
SeasonDivisionGroupFinalsResult
2019–20BA612388 2021Ineligible
2022–23CB431094 2023
2023–24BA6114412 2024
2024–25CCTo be determined 2025
Total165472124Total0 Titles

Caribbean Cup

Caribbean Cup record
YearRound
1989Did not qualify
1990
1991
1992
1993Fourth place5212168
1994Did not qualify
1995
1996Group stage3012310
1997Runners-up420248
1998Did not qualify
1999Group stage300309
2001Group stage311178
2005Did not qualify
2007
2008
2010
2012
2014
2017
Total5/181853102643

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Courtney . Barrie . Saint Kitts and Nevis – List of International Matches . RSSSF . 2 February 2023 . 31 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230331133042/https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/stkitts-intres.html . live .
  2. Web site: St. Kitts and Nevis vs. Andorra. Soccerway. 12 November 2015. 6 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211006133700/https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2015/11/12/world/friendlies/andorra/st-kitts-and-nevis/2165974/?ICID=HP_MS_01_03. live.
  3. Web site: 'Sugar Boyz' defeat Andorra in historic European win. miyvue.com. 14 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151117030604/http://miyvue.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24680:sugar-boyz-defeat-andorra-in-historic-european-win&catid=42:rokstories&Itemid=109. 17 November 2015. dead.
  4. Web site: ⚽St.Kitts-Nevis Senior Men's Team head coach Francisco Molina has named his squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers vs Costa Rica and the Bahamas. The Sugar Boyz take on Costa Rica on June 6th in San Jose, Costa Rica, followed by a home game on June 11th vs the Bahamas at Warner Park. The full squad reads: . . 23 May 2024 . 23 May 2024.
  5. Web site: Saint Kitts and Nevis . National Football Teams.