Liam Evans, the Bermuda captain, said the island should be proud of what the team have achieved at the Concacaf Under-20 Championship.

“I think we deserve it and I hope we have the respect of everyone back home because we’re out here and giving it our all,” Evans said.

“Hopefully everyone back home sees that and recognises that we are at a level we have never been before and they can get behind us and support us, no matter what happens.”

Bermuda are making their first appearance at the Championship, which is the final qualifying stage for this summer’s Under-20 World Cup in South Korea.

Evans said that Bermuda had a point to prove every time they stepped on to the pitch.

“We are here to prove to everyone that we’re no longer a tiny country that plays a little bit of football,” the Robin Hood midfielder said. “We’re ready to take the next step to the next stage.”

Evans has led by example in Costa Rica and has provided cover in different positions to demonstrate his versatility.

“You just have to do what you have to do for the team,” he said. “The coach [Kyle Lightbourne] is going to put everyone in positions where he thinks they will succeed and we just have to trust them.

“It’s a huge honour to captain your country at any level. To do it in a big tournament such as this — well, I couldn’t be any more honoured and it’s a special feeling.

“We’re all a family and it’s a good feeling.”

Bermuda are battling with Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica for the sole remaining spot for the classification stage, which will determine the four teams to represent the Concacaf region at the Under-20 World Cup.

Bermuda must win their final match tomorrow against favourites Costa Rica to keep their hopes alive.

“If you would have told us before the tournament started that we just have to win our last game to go through to the next round, I think we would have taken it,” Evans said.

“That’s what we’ve got to do, win or go home. We just have to go out there and give it our best and see if we can come away with a win.

“Obviously we’re the underdogs. They are a much higher-ranked team and so they’re the ones that have the pressure on them.

“It’s just like any other game and I’m ready to go.”