TWO local footballers made history whilst playing for their country on Sunday evening.

Jacob Hazel, who’s from Bingley and currently plays for Darlington at club level, and Guiseley footballer, Jameel Ible, are currently away with the St Kitts and Nevis national side at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and they hit the jackpot on Sunday.

Although St Kitts fell to a 3-0 defeat against Trinidad and Tobago in the opening group stage game of the tournament (Sunday), Guiseley’s central defender, Ible, who unluckily scored an own goal for his country, started the game in defence and Hazel made an appearance from the bench.

It was the nation’s first ever group game at the Gold Cup, so it was a massively historic night for all involved.

They arrived at the competition following last week’s victory over French Guinea – defeating their opponents 3-2 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw – which resulted in group stage qualification.

After facing Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, St Kitts still have to play Jamaica and the United States in their designated group, with each game closing in on a sellout crowd.

Hazel and Ible will now have the chance to face off with huge stars such as Christian Pulisic (USA), Tyler Adams (USA) and Leon Bailey (Jamaica).

Their next group stage fixture will be against USA in the early hours of Thursday morning (UK time-2:30am), with the match taking place in St. Louis - the second-largest city in Missouri, United States, at a local time of 10pm on Wednesday evening.

Ible and Hazel’s side will take on Jamaica in the final group game on Monday 3 July at midnight.

The other fixture in St Kitts’ group was also played on Sunday evening and it was Jamaica who had a lead snatched away from them at the death.

Damion Lowe had put the Caribbean side ahead before Brandon Vazquez equalised for the USA with two minutes of the match remaining.

Trinidad and Tobago currently take top spot in Group A, while Jamaica and USA are tied level in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

St Kitts and Nevis find themselves at the foot of the group following their opening 3-0 defeat.

About the tournament

The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup is the 17th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's football championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. Canada and the United States are hosting the tournament, which is taking place from June 24 to July 16, 2023.

The United States are the defending champions, having won the 2021 edition.

CONCACAF announced the 15 host venues for the 2023 Gold Cup on April 10, 2023. They include a mix of soccer-specific stadiums primarily occupied by Major League Soccer teams and larger American football stadiums. BMO Field in Toronto is the sole venue outside of the United States; it is the first Canadian stadium to host the Gold Cup since the 2015 edition.