Martinique have another chance to win their first-ever CONCACAF Nations League encounter when they battle Curacao on Sunday at Pierre-Aliker Municipal Stadium in Fort-de-France.
On matchday one, Les Matinino were beaten 3-0 by Panama, while Curacao conceded late to Trinidad and Tobago, losing 1-0.
Match preview
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It was a familiar feeling for Martinique in their opening Nations League encounter, as the Lesser Antilles island nation failed to generate much against a superior Panamanian side, registering just three shots on target with only 35% possession.
That was the first time this team had failed to find the back of the net in 2023, while they have now been held scoreless in four of their last five Nations League fixtures.
Marc Collat's men have conceded first in their last three matches, and on Thursday they gave up a first-half goal in this competition for the first time since June 2022 (5-0 defeat in Panama).
They have been at their best in this tournament when playing at home, with Les Matinino losing just one of their four Nations League matches played in Fort-de-France, conceding a goal or fewer in three of those games.
In past editions of this tournament, Martinique have led after 45 minutes at Pierre-Aliker Municipal Stadium on three separate occasions and have never conceded a first-half strike in any of those encounters.
Les Matinino are unbeaten this year against Caribbean opponents and have not lost a match against teams in that region since a 2-1 defeat versus Haiti at the 2021 Gold Cup.
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We saw another match with plenty of chances but a lack of finish for Curacao, who lost their third successive Nations League encounter on Thursday and the first of the new campaign.
La Pantera Azul have now only netted once in their five matches played this year, while they have failed to score in three straight Nations League encounters.
This team have won just one of their previous nine matches played outside of Curacao, conceding multiple times in seven of those outings.
Dean Gorre will be in charge of this team for the rest of September and has a lot of work to do to get this group back on the right path, with La Familia Azul being outscored 11-1 in their four matches played this year.
Curacao are winless in this competition when conceding the opening goal, while they have a 100% record when scoring first in a Nations League fixture, something which has only happened twice for them since this tournament debuted in 2019, claiming victories over Haiti that same year (1-0), while they held on to a 2-1 win against Honduras for their only away triumph in this competition.
In four previous engagements with Martinique, La Familia Azul have never lost, winning on three occasions, most recently in a 2017 friendly (2-1).
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Team News
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On matchday one, Boris Moltenis and Lucas Larade made their first senior appearances for Martinique, playing in a back three alongside Florent Poulolo, while Jeremy Corinus also collected his first international cap in the loss to Panama.
Daniel Herelle was in the starting 11 for their opener, as he is now just eight caps away from 100 with the national team, Yannis Clementia is one appearance away from double-digits, while Davy Singama and Gabriel Bilon each made their third appearance.
Jearl Margaritha picked up his first senior cap for Curacao in their opening match of this tournament, while Jaron Vicario continues to seek his first with the national team as he was on the bench for the entire 90 minutes.
Trevor Doornbusch was in goal in their match versus Trinidad and Tobago for only the second time in his international career, Leandro Bacuna can reach the half-century mark for caps this weekend, Kenji Gorre now has 15 appearances internationally and after years away from the national team, Jafar Arias has featured in their last two games, replacing Brandley Kuwas in the second half on Thursday.
Martinique possible starting lineup:
Clementia; Felicitet, Singama, Larade; Rabathaly, Herelle, Mandouki, Marny; Biron, Labeau, Fabien
Curacao possible starting lineup:
Doornbusch; Troupee, Gaari, L. Bacuna, Floranus; Margaritha, Felida, Roemeratoe, Kuwas; Arias, J. Bacuna
We say: Martinique 1-0 Curacao
If Martinique are to break their winless run in this competition, Sunday might be their best opportunity, going up against a side in Curacao who have been equally poor as them in the attacking third, and playing on a pitch they know well should serve as an added advantage.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
