Barbados' Interim Coach Optimistic Despite Early World Cup Qualifier Losses

The wins will come.

Barbados’ interim head coach Kent Hall believes better results are on the horizon for the senior men’s national team despite the Tridents losing both their opening matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Barbados started their campaign with a 4-1 away defeat to Curacao before suffering a 3-1 loss to Haiti at home on Sunday.

However, Hall says despite the results, he was encouraged by the signs of improvement with the spirited performance against their higher-ranked opponents.

“I think right now the thing that will be in the back of most people’s minds is that we were close to a different result right down to the end, but I’m really proud of the boys. The commitment to what we are doing has been incredible and we are learning as we go. I really like the fight and we will grow in confidence and we will start to see better football and hopefully everyone can be proud,” Hall said during a post-match interview.

“There is a lot of work still to be done. The result right now was always going to be secondary. The performance is where we need to be at. We know that we had two really tough games to start with without even a practice match under our belts, so it was a bit of a baptism of fire but I think the boys were tremendous,” he added.

Hall said he was also pleased with the support from home spectators: “The fans touched me. The support was brilliant and it felt special. It felt like a public that was behind the team – and I’ve been around when it didn’t feel so. I want to thank them.”

The interim head coach also praised striker Niall Reid-Stephen for scoring against Haiti and Curacao.

“Niall has been immense. Even against Curacao he was a handful and, again, these are areas that we want to improve on in terms of how we can get our weapons on the ball more.

“His replacement was not because of a lack of quality, we just need to have a little more freshness upfront, and I trust all these boys. They have not betrayed me and they will continue to get that trust and that is equally important for us,” he said.

Captain Andre Applewhaite was also full of praise for his teammates and said the mood in the dressing room remained positive regardless of the scoreline and results. (BT)