Bermuda's Under-17 national coach Kenny Thompson is looking for a very special birthday gift - a win over Cuba on Sunday in Havana.

And after sizing up the opposition last Saturday night at the National Sports Centre, Thompson, celebrating his 38th birthday today, is bubbling with confidence.

Thompson told TheRoyal Gazette yesterday that based on "circumstances" and "reality" he was very confident Bermuda could get the result. But he also cautioned his young troops to play it smart.

"We will just have to play as we did on Saturday night - especially from a defensive standpoint," he explained.

"If we can play at that level or even take it a step higher then I'm confident that we can shut Cuba out again."

Thompson insisted that the pressure was now on the Cubans.

"The onus will be on them to attack and this time they will have their fans screaming out for attacking football and maybe that will open up more gaps," he said.

The coach, who got a thorough look at the opposition during Saturday's scoreless first leg draw, added: "I think that the Cuban team were a very good team. All the players had technical ability. They were all very comfortable with the ball and were very creative and intelligent football players."

But he also gave credit to his team while defending his defensive tactics.

"We certainly felt that it would be best to defend and minimise their space close to our goal and when the opportunity presented itself move forward," he said. "We had to be prepared to defend well and also capitalise on any mistakes that they made in leaving gaps."

Thompson drew reference to this year's World Cup in which some of the favourite nations were toppled by so-called minnows.

"The main reason why some of the little teams were able to do so well was because they played from a wait and go perspective," he noted.

"They didn't play open football because if you are South Korea and you play open football against Italy then with the quality and experience that the Italians possess, they can make you pay for playing too open. Against such an opponent there is a necessity to play it a little bit more cautious."

Thompson added that coming up against Cuba was a little bit different for Bermuda and his side had to look at matches individually and make adjustments based on the quality of the opponents.

"I think that it worked out very well and the only thing that prevented us from getting a winning result was that we didn't convert our chances - and our chances were certainly easier than any Cuba had. They didn't create a chance in front of our goal for the entire match."

Thompson drew comparisons between Cuba and St.Lucia, a team Bermuda thrashed 5-0 last month.

"It wouldn't have been wise of us to approach Cuba in the same way that we approached St.Lucia," he said. "I think that we defended very well and we certainly gave ourselves and the public enough attacking opportunities that at the end of the match everyone should have been satisfied. The only thing we are not satisfied with is that we didn't convert on the chances that we had."

In total, 18 players will head off to Havana on Thursday to begin preparations for Sunday's second-leg contest which will determine who advances to the next round of the Under 17 World Cup qualifying tournament.

Sunday's match is now tentatively scheduled for Campo La Polar at 3 p.m.

Thompson admitted a few adjustments would be made to the team but refused to elaborate any further.

"I won't go into specific detail about those adjustments in this day an age with the Internet and stories in The Royal Gazette being posted on the Internet. It would be very easy for the Cuban coaching staff to read my comments on the Internet," he said with a broad smile.

Again, the coach underlined the advantages of playing the first leg match on home soil.

"I stressed before the match that I was pleased to be playing at home first because now they know that they have the potential to win," he said.

He also noted that some of the fear of the unknown had been cast aside now that Bermuda had proved they could contain an explosive Cuban line-up that came into the match with 11 goals from their last three matches.

"Had we gone to Cuba first, the players would have had to deal with going into the unknown in terms of our opponents, what type of crowd they would come up against, what type of pitch, culture, etc. . . . we could have lost the tie before we even came back to Bermuda.

"This time they know that they have the potential to defeat Cuba and so dealing with the crowd becomes less of a factor. It's certainly less of a factor and based on their performance here they should all feel very confident going to Cuba and getting the right result."

Thompson said there was a special incentive for Bermuda to win.

"In Bermuda we've so often been in a position where here at home we raise the expectations of the public," he said. "The public are looking forward to a celebration but it's the away team that we often find celebrating while we have to leave the stadium quietly. This time let's do it to Cuba."

The winner of the Bermuda v Cuba series plus the winner of Central Zone Group B will play in the final qualifying tournament in Canada next March, when they will be joined by Mexico.

The away goal rule will not be in effect for Sunday's contest. Should the teams again finish deadlocked at the end of regulation time, an additional 30 minutes extra-time will be played. Penalties will then be called on to determine the winner should the teams remain tied.