Barbados and Aruba will try to keep their slim World Cup 2026 qualification hopes alive on Wednesday when they face each other in Group C action from Wildey Turf in Bridgetown.
A 3-1 defeat versus Haiti dropped the Bajan Tridents down to the bottom of that group, a point below Aruba, who picked up a 2-2 draw at Saint Lucia.
Match preview
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Despite earning a promotion into CONCACAF Nations League B last year, that momentum has not carried over to the current World Cup qualification cycle for Barbados.
Kent Hall's men have been outscored by a combined margin of 7-2 in the second round and need a win to have a chance at finishing in the top two and continuing their qualifying adventure.
Barbados have not scored a single goal in the opening half of the group phase while conceding three times in the first 45 minutes.
On the positive side, they are unbeaten in their previous two encounters, having played to a pair of 0-0 friendly draws with Dominica last month.
Two of their last three matches played at Wildey Turf ended in a triumph for this side, as they scored a combined 10 goals over that stretch with six conceded.
Meanwhile, five of the six all-time meetings between themselves and Aruba have gone the way of the Bajan Tridents, with the last one occurring in June 2015 (2-0).
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While they had another strong opening half on matchday two of qualifying, Aruba were ultimately left disappointed, missing a golden opportunity to make up some ground in the group phase.
Marvic Bermudez has seen his team go into the interval even or ahead in their two qualifying fixtures this round, but they only have one point to show for it.
Since that draw with Saint Lucia, this side have lost seven of their previous eight competitive fixtures but won the last one versus Cambodia in a March friendly (2-1).
They have won at least one match in each of their previous three World Cup qualifying cycles and will need maximum points to have a chance at advancing heading into their final group game against Haiti.
On Wednesday, Aruba can win consecutive fixtures away from home for the first time since 2023, when they claimed successive triumphs as the visitors in their CONCACAF Nations League group.
The last time they faced Barbados in a competitive match was June 2015, when Aruba collected a 3-0 triumph in a World Cup qualification affair.
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Team News
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We saw just one new face in the Barbados starting 11 from matchday one to two of qualifying, with Zachary Applewhite replacing Akeem Hill.
Niall Reid-Stephen has scored the only two goals for them in qualifying thus far, with his strike against Haiti temporarily putting them within one.
As for Aruba, there was one change made to their opening lineup from matchday one to two, with Tyron Perret Gentil taking the place of Darryl Baly.
Walter Bennett and Isai Marselia had the goals for them against Saint Lucia, while Matthew Lentink faced nine shots, conceding twice as they squandered a 2-0 advantage.
Barbados possible starting lineup:
Sumpter; Brathwaite, Williams, Walters, An. Applewhaite; Hoyte, Ac. Applewhaite, Holligan, Bynoe; Reid-Stephen, Gale
Aruba possible starting lineup:
Lentink; Luydens, Paul, Romano, Nedd; Bennett; Ostiana, Marselia, Richard, Jimenez; Groothusen
We say: Barbados 1-2 Aruba
Even though they let the second match of qualifying slip through their fingers, Aruba have the individual quality to surprise the home side, while the latter seem to rely a little too heavily on Reid-Stephen in the attack.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
