Whether it was familiarity with the Swiss team as a result of training with them last summer, or just first-game jitters on behalf of the Swiss, remains a mystery, but the host nation turned in 36 minutes of exceptional play and just came up short on Thursday night at The Bahamas' National Beach Soccer Arena at Malcolm Park.
The Bahamas made its debut in a FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) World Cup event on Thursday night, falling to the number six team in the world, Switzerland, in the narrowest of margins, 3-2. The nation's top international goal scorer, Lesley St. Fleur, actually scored the opening goal of the match for The Bahamas, and after a trifecta of goals by the Swiss, The Bahamas' Team Captain Gavin Christie completed the scoring, booting in a shot in the 31st minute of the game.
It was a spirited performance by the host nation, in what is the country's first match in a team sport at a global event since a third place performance by the mens and ladies teams in softball in the late 1970's -- a span of almost four decades.
"We came here to play and we proved that tonight. We don't want to just be here -- we want to advance through the rounds," said St. Fleur last night. "We've been training very hard for this, and it shows. This game was very important for us, in trying to get that first win, but we just came up short. We made a few mistakes out there, but generally we improved. This shows that we are capable of playing in this level. I just want to thank the fans for coming out and supporting us. Our goal is to make it far. Hopefully, we could go out there, win our next two games and move on."
Switzerland is at number six in the world, and The Bahamas is ranked 48th, according to the Beach Soccer Worldwide Overall World Rankings. The Bahamas' next two opponents, Senegal and Ecuador, are ranked at numbers 17 and 21 respectively. The Bahamas will play Senegal on Saturday night at 8 p.m., and Ecuador on Monday night at 8 p.m., as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 continues.
"I can tell you that Senegal and Ecuador will have a lot of trouble against this Bahamas team. They are at home, they are motivated, and they are playing very well," said Switzerland Head Coach Angelo Schirinzi. "We want to congratulate The Bahamas for an exceptional match tonight. It was very close, and with a little more, they would have won. Our objective is just to get through -- I don't care if it's first or second. I just think that we have to be a bit more calm out there. I think that we were a bit nervous today. I think we'll get better as the tournament goes on."
The top two teams in each group will move through to the quarter-finals next week Thursday, meaning Saturday's match against Senegal is crucial for The Bahamas. It certainly won't be easy as Senegal emphatically shut out Ecuador yesterday, 9-0.
Team Bahamas is ready for the challenge though. In the featured match last night, they struck early. The
nation's top international goal scorer, St. Fleur, converted a penalty shot just 21 seconds into the match. About five minutes later, Noel Ott responded for Switzerland.
Ott capitalized off a misplaced ball by Team Bahamas defender Daron Beneby, stole a pass that was intended for goalkeeper Julio Jemison, and pushed a shot to the back of the net to even the score at one.
Swiss reserve player Glenn Hodel gave them a 2-1 lead with a well-placed header just 47 seconds into the second quarter. He got his head on a cross from Michael Misev and diverted a shot past Jemison to give Switzerland a 2-1 lead. Hodel scored his second goal of the match in the 27th minute of play. Once again, Misev got the assist. This time, Hodel knocked in a bicycle kick on a lob from Misev. That gave the Swiss a 3-1 lead early in the third period.
The Bahamas wasn't dead yet. Team Captain Gavin Christie got his right foot on a backwards header from Kyle Williams and drilled a shot past Swiss goalie Valentin Jaeggy. That goal came in the 31st minute of play.
Team Bahamas failed to get in an equalizer in the final 5:43, thereby dropping its first match of the tournament.
"That team has improved. We know them very well. They were in Switzerland training for two months, they worked out very hard and they are very talented, so we knew that it would be a tough game tonight," said Switzerland coach Schirinzi.
The Bahamas had 34 shots at goal last night, compared to 50 for the Swiss. Also, Switzerland blocked 10 shots compared to six for The Bahamas. Switzerland controlled the ball 58 percent of the time.
This is the first time that the beach soccer world cup is being held in The Bahamas, and the first FIFA global sporting event of any kind in the Caribbean.
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017

Thursday's results
Iran 3, Mexico 2
Senegal 9, Ecuador 0
Italy 12, Nigeria 6
Switzerland 3, The Bahamas 2

Friday's games
3:30 p.m. Japan vs. Poland
5:00 p.m. Portugal vs. Panama
6:30 p.m. Brazil vs. Tahiti
8:00 p.m. United Arab Emirates vs. Paraguay

Saturday's games
3:30 p.m. Italy vs. Iran
5:00 p.m. Switzerland vs. Ecuador
6:30 p.m. Mexico vs. Nigeria
8:00 p.m. Senegal vs. The Bahamas

Sunday's games
3:30 p.m. Tahiti vs. Japan
5:00 p.m. Paraguay vs. Portugal
6:30 p.m. Poland vs. Brazil
8:00 p.m. Panama vs. United Arab Emirates

Monday's games
3:30 p.m. Italy vs. Mexico
5:00 p.m. Switzerland vs. Senegal
6:30 p.m. Nigeria vs. Iran
8:00 p.m. The Bahamas vs. Ecuador

Tuesday's games
3:30 p.m. Tahiti vs. Poland
5:00 p.m. Paraguay vs. Panama
6:30 p.m. Brazil vs. Japan
8:00 p.m. United Arab Emirates vs. Portugal

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