Belize national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Belize women's national football team.

Belize

Nickname(s)	The Jaguars The Unbelizeables
Association	Football Federation of Belize (FFB)
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation	UNCAF (Central America)
Head coach	Carlos Slusher
Captain	Charles Tillett
Most caps	Deon McCaulay (63)
Top scorer	Deon McCaulay (28)
Home stadium	FFB Stadium
FIFA code	BLZ
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	178 (19 December 2024) [1]
Highest	114 (April–June 2016)
Lowest	201 (November 2007 – January 2008)
First international
British Honduras 1–0 Honduras   (British Honduras; 19 February 1928) as Belize   El Salvador 3–0 Belize   (San Salvador, El Salvador; 29 November 1995)
Biggest win
Belize 7–1 Nicaragua   (Belize City, Belize; 17 April 2002)
Biggest defeat
Costa Rica 7–0 Belize   (San José, Costa Rica; 17 March 1999)   Mexico 7–0 Belize   (Monterrey, Mexico; 21 June 2008)
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2013 )
Best result	Group stage (2013)
Copa de Naciones UNCAF/Copa Centroamericana
Appearances	10 (first in 1995 )
Best result	Fourth place (2013)

The Belize national football team represents Belize in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belize, a member of the Central American Football Union of CONCACAF.

Although Belize has never qualified for a FIFA World Cup tournament, it has once qualified for a CONCACAF Gold Cup championship in 2013, in which they were eliminated in the group stage. Belize has also competed in the sub-regional Central American Cup championship in which their best result was fourth place in 2013. The nickname for the players of the national team is the "Jaguars".

History

Overview

Named British Honduras whilst under British colonial rule, the country's first international game came on February 19, 1928, beating Honduras 1–0. Following independence, Belize's first game came on December 8, 1983, in a 2–0 loss against Canada in Belize. ^[2] Although Belize gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1981 (and many of the UK's current colonies have international teams), Belize did not begin to regularly play international football until 1995. It made its debut at the 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup and was eliminated in the first round after losing to El Salvador and Costa Rica.

Belize has never qualified for the World Cup but finished fourth in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana. Their fourth-place finish in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana gave Belize its first qualification to a major international competition, that being the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

June 2011 suspension by FIFA

On June 15, 2011, Belize kicked off its 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign against minnows Montserrat, winning 2–5 away in a match played in the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad. However, the return which was scheduled for June 19 was postponed by FIFA when they suspended the FFB due to governmental interference. ^[3]

Team image

In February 2023 the Football Federation of Belize unveiled a new logo that would represent Belize’s national teams. Created by Rolando Ramirez, the new logo prominently features a Jaguar, the nickname of the team. The FFB hoped that the new image would promote unity and pride in the Belize football community. ^[4]

Rivalries

The Belizean footballers often say that their rivals is the Guatemalan national team

Stadium

FFB Stadium in Belmopan is the home stadium for the Belize national football team. Prior to this stadium, Belize had no facilities that met FIFA specifications. Apart from this Belize has many fields to play on but with no facilities for the players.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Belize 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.

  Win  Draw  Loss  Fixture

2024

Belize   v   Puerto Rico

22 March Friendly	Belize	1–1	Puerto Rico	Belmopan, Belize
19:30  UTC−6	Bernárdez 6'	Report	Ríos 20'	Stadium: FFB Stadium

Belize   v   Puerto Rico

24 March Friendly	Belize	3–0	Puerto Rico	Belmopan, Belize
18:00  UTC−6	Salazar 43' Moss 55' Martínez 74'	Report		Stadium: FFB Stadium

Belize   v   Nicaragua

8 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Belize	0–4	Nicaragua	Belmopan, Belize
20:00  UTC−6		Report	Hernández 39', 65' Barrera 56' (pen.) Moreno 89' (pen.)	Stadium: FFB Field Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

Guyana   v   Belize

11 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Guyana	3–1	Belize	Wildey, Barbados
18:00  UTC−4	Moore 66', 72' Gordon 67'	Report	Bernárdez 89'	Stadium: Wildey Turf Referee: Reon Radix (Grenada)

Turks and Caicos Islands   v   Belize

7 September 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League	Turks and Caicos Islands	0–4	Belize	Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
15:00  UTC−4		Report	Velásquez 12' Polanco 43', 73' Palacio 66'	Stadium: TCIFA National Academy Referee: Cleon Culley (Barbados)

Belize   v   Anguilla

10 September 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League	Belize	1–0	Anguilla	Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
15:00  UTC−4	Polanco 27'	Report		Stadium: TCIFA National Academy Referee: Steffon Dewar (Jamaica)

Anguilla   v   Belize

9 October 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League	Anguilla	0–1	Belize	Belmopan, Belize
20:00  UTC−6		Report	Velasquez 56'	Stadium: FFB Stadium Attendance: 522 Referee: Ray Torres (Puerto Rico)

Belize   v   Turks and Caicos Islands

15 October 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League	Belize	3–0	Turks and Caicos Islands	Belmopan, Belize
20:00  UTC−6	Polanco 28' Hernández 40' Lopez 57'	Report		Stadium: FFB Stadium Referee: Victor Rivas (United States)

Belize   v   French Guiana

14 November 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification	Belize	2–1	French Guiana	Belmopan, Belize
19:00  UTC−6	Bernárdez 67' (pen.) Martínez 75'	Report	Torvic 90+3'	Stadium: FFB Stadium Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)

French Guiana   v   Belize

19 November 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification	French Guiana	2–2	Belize	Paramaribo, Suriname
20:00  UTC−3	Nozile 48' Haabo 89' (pen.)	Report	Lopez 40' Bernárdez 52'	Stadium: Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadion Referee: Marco Ortiz (Mexico)

2025

Belize   v   Costa Rica

21 March 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification	Belize	v	Costa Rica	Belmopan, Belize
--:--  UTC−6				Stadium: FFB Stadium

Costa Rica   v   Belize

25 March 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification	Costa Rica	v	Belize	San José, Costa Rica
--:--  UTC−6				Stadium: Estadio Nacional

Montserrat   v   Belize

4 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Montserrat	v	Belize
		Report

Belize   v   Panama

7 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Belize	v	Panama
		Report

Coaching staff

Name	Nat	Position
Carlos Slusher		Head coach
Horace Arboleda		Technical director
Jack Striders		Technical director
Peter Jones		Assistant Head coach
Kent Gabourel Sr.		Goalkeeping coach
Shaun Woodmac		Physical Trainer
Thomas Rivars		Physiotherapist

Coaching history

Since the creation of the national team in 1995, several coaches have been in charge of managing Belize. From 1995 to 1996, Winston Michael was appointed as Belize's first ever manager. As of January 2012 ^[update] , the Belize national football team has had 11 managers.

Manager	Period in charge	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Winston Michael	1995–1996	4	0	0	4	000.0
Manuel Bilches	1999–2000	6	0	1	5	000.0
Leroy Sherrier Lewis	2001	5	3	1	1	060.0
Eduardo Santana	2003	0	0	0	0	!—
Anthony Adderly	2003–2006	5	0	0	5	000.0
Antonio Carlos Vieira	2006–2007	3	0	0	3	000.0
Palmiro Salas	2008	2	1	0	1	050.0
Ian Mork	2008	4	0	1	3	000.0
Renan Couoh	2008–2009	3	0	1	2	000.0
José de la Paz Herrera	2010–2012	7	2	2	3	028.6
Leroy Sherrier Lewis	2012–2013	5	1	1	3	020.0
Charlie Slusher	2013	1	0	1	0	000.0
Ian Mork	2013–2014	4	0	1	3	000.0
Leroy Sherrier Lewis	2014–2015	3	0	0	3	000.0
Jorge Nunez	2015–2016	4	2	2	0	050.0
Richard Orlowski	2016–2018	5	0	1	4	000.0
Palmiro Salas	2018–2019	6	3	1	2	050.0
Vincenzo Alberto Annese	2019–2020	6	2	1	3	033.3
Dale Pelayo Sr.	2020–2021	3	1	0	2	033.3
David Perez Asensio	2022–2024	17	3	4	10	017.6
Charlie Slusher	2024-Present	4	4	0	0	100.0

Players

Woodrow West played numerous games for Belize

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League C matches against Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands on 12 and 15 October 2024. ^[5]

Caps and goals correct as of 15 October 2024, after the match against   Turks and Caicos Islands .

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1 GK	Charles Tillett	(2001-07-29) 29 July 2001 (age 23)	20	0	Progresso
	1 GK	Orlando Galdámez	(1992-02-24) 24 February 1992 (age 33)	0	0	Atletico Belize
	2 DF	Jaylen Lennan	(2002-06-17) 17 June 2002 (age 22)	6	0	Verdes FC
	2 DF	Brandon Jones	(1993-07-03) 3 July 1993 (age 31)	4	0	Verdes FC
	2 DF	Harlan Casanova		2	0	Progresso
	2 DF	Jordan Casanova	(2004-04-30) 30 April 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Unattached
	2 DF	Brandon Rogers		0	0	San Pedro Pirates
	3 MF	Jordy Polanco	(1996-06-08) 8 June 1996 (age 28)	30	6	Verdes
	3 MF	Darrel Myvette	(1993-12-15) 15 December 1993 (age 31)	22	0	Verdes
	3 MF	Nahjib Guerra	(1994-08-18) 18 August 1994 (age 30)	20	0	Verdes
	3 MF	Andir Chi	(2000-11-17) 17 November 2000 (age 24)	10	0	Progresso
	3 MF	Gabriel Ramos	(2000-01-19) 19 January 2000 (age 25)	6	0	San Pedro Pirates
	3 MF	Moisés Hernández	(1998-05-26) 26 May 1998 (age 26)	3	1	San Pedro Pirates
	3 MF	Ramon Ramos	(1994-11-23) 23 November 1994 (age 30)	3	0	Progresso
	3 MF	Naim Wilson	(1997-08-05) 5 August 1997 (age 27)	3	0	Port Layola
	3 MF	Freybin Pagoada	(2002-03-22) 22 March 2002 (age 22)	2	0	CA Belize
	4 FW	Krisean Lopez	(1998-11-02) 2 November 1998 (age 26)	30	4	Verdes
	4 FW	Michael Palacio	(2002-02-15) 15 February 2002 (age 23)	9	1	Port Layola
	4 FW	Orlando Velásquez	(1998-12-18) 18 December 1998 (age 26)	4	2	Port Layola
	4 FW	Jardehl Muschamp	(2002-11-03) 3 November 2002 (age 22)	4	0	Deportes Savio
	4 FW	Rene Leslie	(1999-12-12) 12 December 1999 (age 25)	2	0	Port Layola
	4 FW	Brian Chavez	(2005-05-17) 17 May 2005 (age 19)	0	0	San Pedro Pirates

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the past 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Woodrow West	(1985-09-19) 19 September 1985 (age 39)	46	0	Verdes	v.   Guyana ; 12 June, 2024
GK	Earl Dyck	(2003-10-21) 21 October 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Rising Stars	v.   Anguilla ; 10 September, 2024
DF	Donell Arzú	(1999-09-27) 27 September 1999 (age 25)	9	0	Progresso	v.   Anguilla ; 10 September, 2024
DF	Ashley Torres	(1985-09-15) 15 September 1985 (age 39)	6	0	Altitude	v.   Anguilla ; 10 September, 2024
DF	Aldin Forman	(1999-03-16) 16 March 1999 (age 25)	1	0	San Pedro Pirates	v.   Anguilla ; 10 September, 2024
DF	Devin Garbutt	(2007-05-05) 5 May 2007 (age 17)	1	0	Unattached	v.   Anguilla ; 10 September, 2024
DF	Richard Gillett		0	0	Progresso	v.   Anguilla ; 10 September, 2024
DF	Everal Trapp	(1987-01-22) 22 January 1987 (age 38)	55	0	Verdes	v.   Guyana ; 12 June, 2024
DF	Eugene Martínez	(1997-10-20) 20 October 1997 (age 27)	15	2	LA 10 FC	v.   Guyana ; 12 June, 2024
DF	Jahron Myvette	(1995-05-09) 9 May 1995 (age 29)	7	0	Verdes	v.   Guyana ; 12 June, 2024
DF	Deshawon Nembhard	(1994-10-08) 8 October 1994 (age 30)	12	1	Central Valley Fuego	v.   Nicaragua ; 9 June, 2024
MF	Delone Torres	(1994-06-14) 14 June 1994 (age 30)	6	0	Altitude	v.   Anguilla ; 10 September, 2024
MF	Warren Moss	(1999-10-13) 13 October 1999 (age 25)	13	1	Indiana Tech Warriors	v.   Guyana ; 12 June, 2024
MF	Nana Mensah	(1989-01-19) 19 January 1989 (age 36)	30	1	South Carolina United Heat	v.   Nicaragua ; 9 June, 2024
FW	Jaheim Mena	(2006-02-23) 23 February 2006 (age 19)	2	0	Legends FC	v.   Anguilla ; 10 September, 2024
FW	Latrell Middleton	(1999-11-03) 3 November 1999 (age 25)	1	0	Port Layola	v.   Anguilla ; 10 September, 2024
FW	Carlos Bernárdez	(1992-12-28) 28 December 1992 (age 32)	16	4	Real Sociedad	v.   Guyana ; 12 June, 2024
FW	Horace Ávila	(1999-09-18) 18 September 1999 (age 25)	11	1	San Pedro Pirates	v.   Guyana ; 12 June, 2024
FW	Michael Salazar	(1992-11-15) 15 November 1992 (age 32)	23	3	Los Angeles Force	v.   Nicaragua ; 9 June, 2024
FW	Félix Martínez	(2005-07-09) 9 July 2005 (age 19)	1	1	Verdes	v.   Puerto Rico ; 25 March, 2024

Records

As of 19 November 2024 ^[6]

Players in bold are still active with Belize.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Deon McCaulay	63	28	2007–2022
2	Elroy Smith	61	6	2004–2019
3	Ian Gaynair	57	2	2007–2022
4	Evral Trapp	55	0	2010–present
5	Woodrow West	46	0	2008–present
6	Dalton Eiley	41	0	2005–2019
	Daniel Jiménez	41	2	2008–2019
8	Harrison Róchez	40	5	2004–2019
9	Trevor Lennan	37	1	2005–2019
10	Elroy Kuylen	33	6	2009–2019

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Deon McCaulay	28	63	0.44	2007–2022
2	Carlos Bernárdez	6	18	0.33	2019–present
	Jordy Polanco	6	32	0.19	2015–present
	Elroy Kuylen	6	33	0.18	2009–2019
	Elroy Smith	6	61	0.1	2004–2019
6	Dion Frazer	5	8	0.63	2000–2008
	Krisean Lopez	5	32	0.16	2018–present
	Harrison Róchez	5	40	0.13	2004–2019
9	Norman Nuñez	3	11	0.27	1995–2005
	Vallan Symms	3	20	0.15	2000–2011
	Michael Salazar	3	23	0.13	2013–present

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup										FIFA World Cup qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1978	Part of   United Kingdom									Part of   United Kingdom
1982 and 1986	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1990 and 1994	Did not enter									Declined participation
1998	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	2	6
2002										4	0	1	3	2	10
2006										2	0	0	2	0	8
2010										4	1	1	2	4	11
2014										8	4	1	3	17	13
2018										6	2	3	1	7	6
2022										3	1	0	2	5	5
2026	To be determined									2	0	0	2	1	7
2030										To be determined
2034
Total		0/9								31	8	6	17	38	66

CONCACAF Gold Cup

Main article: Belize at the CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship & CONCACAF Gold Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1963	Part of   United Kingdom										Part of   United Kingdom
1965
1967
1969
1971
1973
1977
1981
1985	Not a CONCACAF member										Not a CONCACAF member
1989	Did not enter										Did not enter
1991
1993
1996	Did not qualify										2	0	0	2	1	5
1998											2	0	1	1	1	2
2000											2	0	0	2	1	12
2002											2	0	1	1	3	7
2003	Did not enter										Did not enter
2005	Did not qualify										3	0	0	3	0	7
2007											3	0	0	3	3	7
2009											3	0	1	2	3	7
2011											3	0	1	2	3	8
2013	Group stage	12th	3	0	0	3	1	11	Squad		5	1	1	3	2	4
2015	Did not qualify										3	0	0	3	1	6
2017											5	0	1	4	2	10
2019											4	2	0	2	6	3
2021											6	2	0	4	6	12
2023											6	0	1	5	2	10
Total	Group stage	1/18	3	0	0	3	1	11	—		49	5	5	39	34	100

CONCACAF Nations League

CONCACAF Nations League record
League											Finals
Season	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R		Finals	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
2019−20	B	A	6	2	0	4	6	12			2020	Ineligible
2022–23	B	D	6	0	1	5	2	10			2023
2023–24	B	C	6	2	1	3	5	7			2024
2024–25	C	B	4	4	0	0	9	0			2025
2026–27	B	To be determined									2027
Total	—	—	22	8	2	12	22	29	—		Total	0 Titles	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

CONCACAF Nations League history
First match	French Guiana 3–0   Belize (5 September 2019; Cayenne, French Guiana)
Biggest win	Belize 4–0   Turks and Caicos Islands (7 September 2024; Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands)
Biggest defeat	Saint Kitts and Nevis 4–0 Belize   (10 October 2019; Belmopan, Belize)
Best result	—
Worst result	—

Copa Centroamericana

Copa Centroamericana record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	Did not enter
1993
1995	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	1	5
1997	Preliminary round	7th	2	0	1	1	1	2
1999	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	1	12
2001		6th	2	0	1	1	3	7
2003	Did not enter
2005	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	0	7
2007		7th	3	0	0	3	3	7
2009		7th	3	0	1	2	3	7
2011		7th	3	0	1	2	3	8
2013	Fourth place	4th	5	1	1	3	2	4
2014	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	1	6
2017		6th	5	0	1	4	2	10
Total	Fourth place	10/13	30	1	6	23	19	69

The 1995 tournament in El Salvador saw Belize's international debut. They played the hosts in their first-ever international on November 29 in Group A. El Salvador won 3–0 with all goals coming in the second half. ^[7] On December 1, Belize scored their first-ever international goal as they lost 2–1 to Costa Rica and were eliminated from the tournament. Both other teams advanced to the semi-finals and were defeated there, Costa Rica's conqueror Honduras beat Guatemala in the final.

Head-to-head record

Updated on 19 November 2024 after match against   French Guiana ^[8]

  Positive Record  Neutral Record  Negative Record

Opponent	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GF
Anguilla	2	2	0	0	2	0	+2
Bahamas	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4
Barbados	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1
Bermuda	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1
Canada	5	0	1	4	1	14	−13
Cayman Islands	2	0	2	0	1	1	0
Costa Rica	6	0	0	6	1	18	−17
Cuba	3	1	0	2	3	9	−6
Dominican Republic	4	2	0	2	5	5	0
El Salvador	10	0	0	10	6	29	−23
French Guiana	8	4	2	2	10	7	+3
Grenada	5	2	0	3	11	11	0
Guatemala	13	0	4	9	10	23	−13
Guyana	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1
Haiti	1	0	0	1	0	2	–2
Honduras	10	1	0	9	4	24	−20
Jamaica	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
Mexico	2	0	0	2	0	9	−9
Montserrat	3	2	0	1	8	4	+4
Nicaragua	13	4	3	6	19	25	–6
Panama	6	0	2	4	3	10	−7
Puerto Rico	3	2	1	0	5	1	+4
Saint Kitts and Nevis	4	2	1	1	5	6	−1
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	6	2	2	2	6	7	–1
Turks and Caicos Islands	3	3	0	0	12	0	+12
Trinidad and Tobago	2	0	2	0	0	0	0
United States	1	0	0	1	1	6	−5
Total	118	31	22	65	124	216	−92

References

1. '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000009-QINU`"' "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
2. "World Football Elo Ratings: Belize". Elo Ratings. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
3. Suspension of the Football Federation of Belize  – FIFA
4. Iglesias, Rubén Morales. "Unleashing the power of The Jaguars: Football Federation of Belize reveals new Belize National Football Team logo by Rolando Ramirez". Breaking Belize News. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
5. "Belize Senior Men's National Team". Instagram. Football Federation of Belize - FFB.
6. "Belize". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
7. "Belize - List of International Matches". Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
8. "World Football Elo Ratings: Belize". Elo Ratings. Retrieved October 24, 2018.

External links

• Official website of the Football Federation of Belize
• Belize at FIFA.com (archived 4 June 2007)
• Belize national football team on Instagram