SEATTLE, WASH. - Seattle Sounders FC 2 midfielder Jordy Delem and forward Myron Samuel have been called into the Martinique and St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Teams, respectively, this week for the second round of qualifying for the 2017 Caribbean Cup. Martinique is paired with Guadeloupe and Dominica in Group 2, while St. Vincent and the Grenadines takes on Suriname and Saint Kitts and Nevis in Group 5 to decide which nations qualify for the 2017 Caribbean Cup, which takes place next May in the United States.
Delem, who signed with S2 in April, has 29 caps for Les Matinino, including four goals. The 23-year-old has made three appearances for S2 in the midfield and on the backline. Samuel, in his second season with S2, leads the Rave Green with three assists in eight appearances. The 23-year-old striker Samuel has netted 18 goals in 47 international appearances for Vincy Heat.
Delem's Martinique squad qualified for the second round of the tournament after winning both first round matches against the British Virgin Islands and Dominica in March. Samuel's St. Vincent and the Grenadines side earned a bye into the second round after reaching the CONCACAF fourth round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Martinique defeated Guadeloupe on Wednesday in Fort-de-France, Martinique by a score of 2-0. Next up, Les Matinino plays Dominica on Tuesday, June 7 in Roseau, Dominica to round out the group. Meanwhile, St. Vincent and the Grenadines enters its first contest of the competition against Suriname on Saturday, June 4 in Paramaribo, Suriname. Vincy Heat then takes on Saint Kitts and Nevis in Kingstown, St. Vincent on June 7.
The winner of each group automatically advances to the third round of qualifying, while the second-place finisher has further qualifications based on goal differential. In total, four teams are set to advance out of qualifying for the final 2017 Caribbean Cup, which takes place next May in the United States. All four of those teams also qualify for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with a fifth team advancing to a qualifying playoff against a Central American side for the final berth in the Gold Cup.
