Cecoy Robinson said he is excited to captain Bermuda for the first time in their friendly match against Cuba in Havana next week.

The 30-year-old will lead Bermuda’s 19-strong squad made up of fringe and overseas-based players that will play Cuba at the Pedro Marrero Stadium on Wednesday.

“It’s definitely always an honour and not everyone gets to do that; represent your country and be in that capacity,” said Robinson, who captained a Bermuda Select to a 3-1 win over Oakville Blue Devils at the National Stadium in April last year.

“It’s always an honour to represent your country, period, and definitely a good thing.”

The match will serve as a warm-up for Bermuda’s final Concacaf Nations League qualifier against the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo next month, as they look to reach the Gold Cup.

Coach Kyle Lightbourne’s side are seventh in the standings, with the top ten teams qualifying for the biennial competition.

Professionals Nahki Wells, Reggie Lambe, captain Danté Leverock, Jonté Smith and Willie Clemons have not been included, as the match does not fall in an international window.

This in turn provides an ideal opportunity for fringe players to stake a claim in Lightbourne’s squad for their crucial qualifier at the Estádio Olímpico Félix Sánchez on March 24.

“There are spots up for grabs for the final [qualifier], so everyone will be working twice as hard,” Robinson said.

“We all want to make the cut and be a part of that team that makes history for the country, so it creates good competition.

“We have a really good group and everyone sticks together like a family.

“We’re a very tight-knit group and when we stick together; it helps out on the pitch because we understand each other.”

Cuba, who beat the Dominican Republic 1-0 in Santo Domingo last November, are among the top nations in the Caribbean region and will provide Lightbourne’s team with a stern test.

“Our goal is Dominican Republic so we need to be working on things and gearing our minds to put things in place for that,” Robinson added.

“We have to look at the bigger picture. This is a warm-up game and it’s important to get some serious minutes but we have to definitely look at the [Dominican Republic] game.

“Cuba are one of the teams that beat Dominican, so obviously we need to be just as focused as if we were playing the Dominican Republic.

“I think we definitely need to focus on our game plan rather than theirs and fine-tune ourselves for the big game.”

Bermuda and Cuba will possibly play a warm-up match behind closed doors before Wednesday’s game at the Pedro Marrero Stadium.