New York, Aug 16: The Marshall Islands finally got off the mark in international football on Thursday and promptly lost 4-0 to the U.S. Virgin Islands on a high school pitch in Arkansas, but not before making history as the world’s newest national team.
The remote Pacific nation with fewer than 40,000 people played their first-ever international at the 3,000-capacity Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium in Springdale, better known as home to the local high school’s American football team.
“I feel surreal this morning; it’s one of those out-of-body experiences,” technical director Lloyd Owers told Reuters before the historic match. “I don’t think we or anyone else thought we’d be here in two and a half years. The fact that it’s going viral across the world is a great feeling.”
The English ex-semi-professional player from Oxfordshire, who took charge in 2022, led a squad this week that included players experiencing 11-a-side football for the first time. (Reuters)
