When thousands of Americans tune in to watch the U.S. begin its World Cup Qualifying run on Friday afternoon, a few hundred from a small Caribbean island will be watching from their country’s capital to see a legend and a budding superstar take the pitch.
Sounders FC 2 Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson and S2 striker Oalex Anderson are part of a St. Vincent and the Grenadines side set to face the United States at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Friday at 3:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2, with Hendrickson on the sideline as an assistant to Head Coach Cornelius Huggins and Anderson on the pitch as one of the top scorers for the young Caribbean team.
“Even with our country’s elections coming up, the people in St. Vincent are more excited for this single game,” said Anderson, who had four goals in 16 matches for S2 in its inaugural season. “This means a lot to the country, we are proud and ready to cherish this moment against the U.S.”
The St. Vincent team has made it to this stage of qualifying three times in its history, including twice with Hendrickson wearing the captain’s armband. The nation, which occupies just twice the area of St. Louis, has never advanced to the knockout rounds of qualifying.
“This team might be one of the most talented teams our country has put out in a very long time,” said Hendrickson. “They are young, they are raw and they have been playing together for a while. We are hoping for a result.”
Anderson has nine goals for the “Vincy Heat” in 15 appearances and scored the second goal in his side’s 2-0 victory over Aruba in the second round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
“We know it’s not going to be easy,” said Anderson. “I remember my first game in the U.S. and it was cold. I wasn’t prepared for it. A lot of the players aren’t used to this yet. It’s not easy, but it’s not on our mind. We are looking forward to an opportunity to play the game we love.”
For a team used to playing in front of 5,000 on a pitch it shares with a cricket team, Friday’s match is going to be a new experience for the squad with an average age of just 23 years old.
“We know the crowd won’t be on our side, but we are preparing the players for that,” said Hendrickson. “It’s our job to go out there and make sure the players are ready to play our game to our strengths and take the crowd out of it.”
Hendrickson is no stranger to playing in the U.S. with 11 years of professional playing experience across MLS before spending six years as an assistant coach with Sounders FC. Now, in his first stint with his national team, he will hope that experience will rub off on the young players.
“Bringing EZ in was a great move for the team,” said Anderson. “The team has more live and he keeps pushing us to be better no matter what.”
Win or lose Friday, Anderson hopes to cherish his moment on the pitch against a U.S. side that has struggled in form as of late, but will look to take all three points in St. Louis.
“Our players have no fear,” said Hendrickson. “They have plenty of talent and are happy for the opportunity to play this game.”
Friday’s match between St. Vincent and the USMNT kicks off at 3:30 p.m. PT and you can watch live on ESPN2, WatchESPN, UniMás and UDN.
