Nicaragua Beats Belize 4-0 in World Cup Qualifier Match

The F.F.B. Stadium in Belmopan came alive on Friday night with football fans hoping for a Belize National team win against Nicaragua. But the result was quite the opposite, team Belize lost to Nicaragua in the 2026 World Cup Qualifier match, four goals to zero. Would the results have been different if three of the national team’s players did not sit out the game in protest? News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

On Friday night, the Belize National Football team made its debut in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. They went up against Nicaragua’s national team. This was Nicaragua’s second match in the group. They played and won their first game against Montserrat. According to the latest FIFA ranking, Belize is sitting at the one hundred and eighty second position. Here is what the starting lineup looked like for both teams.

 

CONCACAF Announcer

“Let’s take a look at the lineup by the home national team. Belize with Tillett in the goal. Lopez, Trapp, Martinez, Ayala, four in the back. Myvett, Polanco and Avila in the middle in the midfield. Guerra, Bernandez and Moss will be three men in charge of producing goal for the team coach, David Perez. Let’s take a look at the starting lineup for Nicaragua. Rodriguez in goal. Five in the back with Quijsno, Flete, Serapio, Perez, Avecado. Four midfield is Rodriguez on the right, Moldskred, Montes in the middle, Hernandez on the left. On the front Number nine, Jaimee Moreno.”

 

 

 

The starting whistle is blown, and the game is underway with an early position by Nicaragua. Eight minutes and forty seconds in. Nicaragua in possession. Pass to number three in midfield. He dropped it inside to Montes who was unable to get a clean shot off. Spot kick for Nicaragua in the fourteen minutes. A kick to Hernandez, he got around Belize’s defender, gets the header and goalkeeper Tillett was able to make the stop. Twenty-six minutes in and Belize was struggling to get the ball beyond midfield, while Nicaragua was dominating possessions and getting more shots towards the goal. A pass through the middle found Moldskred near the goal. He fired, and Tillet again with the spot. A second attempt towards the goal hit the crossbar.  Immediately following that play, Belize gained possession. Moss to Avila on the right wing. Avila sprinted down the field, into the penalty box. Avila shot the ball towards the goal. It bounced off the goalpost and spun towards Bernardez in front of the goal. But he was unable to finish for Belize.

 

Nicaragua scored its first goal thirty-nine minutes into the game, with a bullet from Hernandez off the header from a Belizean defender. Belize, down by one.

 

Jordy Polanco with one final attempt before the end of the first half to tie the game. Polanco dropped the ball to the far post, and no one was there to get it. That’s how the first half ended. A dominant forty-five minutes for Nicaragua. A Belize team that was unable to match, respond, and tie the game.

 

 

Fifty-three minutes into this one. Hernandez for Nicaragua all alone just outside the penalty box. He got the pass and pushed towards the goal. A hard tackle by Eugene Martinez sent Hernandez to the ground. The referee called a foul inside the penalty box, awarding Nicaragua with a penalty shot. With that shot they went up two goal to none.

 

 

 

 

Goal number three for Nicaragua came ten minutes. Medina to Moreno, Moreno with the quick touch to an open Hernandez, again on top of the penalty box. Hernandez saw the opening and placed the ball into the net. Down three goals with twenty-five minutes of play time left on the clock, Belize’s coach David Perez made several changes. Among them, he replaced starter and midfielder, Jordy Polanco, much to the dismay of Belizean fans as the crowd began booing the coach.

 

 

 

 

Nicaragua’s fourth and final goal in this match against Belize was made at the tail end of the game. Acevedo went down inside the penalty box off a hard tackle, leading to the second penalty shot in the game awarded to Nicaragua. Moreno took the penalty and scored.

 

 

 

 

 

We heard from team Belize immediately following the game.

 

David Perez, Head Coach, Belize National Football Team

“We competed very well during the first half. I think quite well, with tactical disorders and adjustments that we had to correct. But, well, the second half cost us a little more. Those two changes, well, in the end they are two quality changes and, well, we must accept them.”

 

 

 

 

Nahjib Guerra, Belize National Football Team Player

“It’s very, very tough last because it’s a loss at home, so I believe we need to go back to the drawing board. We, as coach said, we already seen how Diana plays, so it’s just for us to focus on our strength and build more on our weakness because we have a good team, but, uh, the big advantage at Nicaragua, however, also is they had players of better quality playing in Europe. In bigger leagues.”

 

 

 

And can the blame for this massive home field loss be placed on three players who decided to sit out the game. Fans who are familiar with the team noted during play time that Michael Salazar, Nanah Mensah and Deshawon Nembhard were not on Saturday night’s rotation. According to a statement issued by the Football Federation of Belize shortly after the defeat, these three players will have to face a disciplinary committee because they decided to sit-out the game only four hours before playtime. They cited contractual differences. The F.F.B. says their decision significantly impacted the team’s performance. On their part, the three players issued a joint press release stating that it was a difficult decision and that they had to take a stand against the continued mistreatment players have received at the hands of the F.F.B. The release refers to unprofessional communication, lack of organization, poor conditions and accommodations. They play Guyana this weekend.

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.