Chile trip -- it's all or nothing
of one two-hour match.
But what a match it will be: Bermuda against Chile in Santiago on Saturday in the second World Cup qualifying round. The winner goes to the third round against Uruguay and Paraguay; the loser goes home.
And it will be a particularly long -- and lonely -- trip home should the losers be Bermuda. The squad leave this morning and return next Tuesday, facing about 24 hours of airplanes and airports each way thanks to a New York-Miami-Santiago connection.
Coach Peter Shillingford acknowledges jet lag is a slight concern, but has scheduled a light practice shortly after the team's arrival tomorrow to help the players find their legs.
A bigger worry is their opponents. Shillingford admits Bermuda are going into the game as underdogs against a Chilean team playing at home and much stronger than the other team in their group, Trinidad.
Which may not be saying much considering Bermuda clobbered Trinidad and Tobago 52-6 here two weeks ago. But Shillingford has watched the Chileans and knows them to be a younger and probably fitter side than his.
He also has a videotape taken during the Chile-Trinidad and Tobago match and Shillingford called it "very beneficial'' in devising a game plan.
"In a way, it's just common sense,'' he said. "The more you glean about your opponents the better your chances of playing a game that suit yourselves and not your opposition.'' He wouldn't go into specifics but said his team would play "different variations'' and a "tighter game'' than they did against Trinidad and Tobago.
Size and speed figure to be even but Bermuda's edge in experience could negate the hosts' organisational edge and lure them into expending a lot of excess energy, Shillingford said.
One thing that won't change is the line-up. The same 21 players named against Trinidad and Tobago are making the trip and the same 15 will start. That includes Scott Correia and Sean Field, who received knocks in the previous game.
But veteran Heath (Butch) Robinson, who hasn't trained in three weeks because of a groin injury, is still unavailable, although he will make the trip.
Shillingford had talked about altering the line-up for the Chile game but his team's recent strong play and a solid week of practice, including their final one on Monday night, convinced him not to tinker with success.
"The players are confident,'' he said. "They realise it's going to be tough but they're going down in a postive frame of mind.'' Squad: Danny Forsyth, Steve Given, Dave Lunn, Ashley Redmond, Bobby Hurdle, Dave Bird, Sean Field, Patrick Cooper, Gareth Davies, Ross Webber, Alvin Harvey, Scott Correia, Mike Gorrie, Butch Robinson, Jonathan Cassidy, Dave Worsfield, Billy McNiven, Bradfield Adderley, Dennis Cherry, Russell Matthews, Andrew Correia.