Na’im Zuill, one of the senior players in the Bermuda Under-17 squad, believes that they stand a great chance of qualifying for the World Cup.

Zuill is one of the four players who were part of the squad when the qualifiers took place on the island a year ago, with Curtis Jackson Jr, Amir Brangman-Johnson and Tyler Steede the other survivors. Bermuda finished third in that tournament, behind Curaçao and Canada.

As Aaron Denkins’s side prepare for the group H action in Honduras, starting on Friday, the Bolton Wanderers player has touched on what he thinks will be crucial. Bermuda face Guyana on Friday, take on Surinam two days later, before concluding with an encounter against the host nation on February 11.

“If we do things correctly, we do have a chance of making it into the next round,” Zuill told The Royal Gazette.

“If everyone wants it, then we do have a good chance. But, again, the main priority is just winning one game at a time.”

Zuill turns 17 at the end of this year, which means that this is his last chance of playing at the Under-17 World Cup before he graduates to the under-20 age group. He trained in Bermuda before departing with the locally-based players yesterday for a training camp in Orlando, Florida, prior to travelling to Honduras.

“I just want to, first of all, enjoy the tournament,” the 16-year-old said.

“I just want to get a better result than last year and bring the team up as a player. As one of the experienced guys on the team, I just want to make sure everyone’s doing their part and ready to put heart and mind into the game.

“All I’m worried about is one game at a time. As long as we do what we need to do, I feel like we have a good chance of being the best team on the day.”

Since playing in the last qualifiers, Zuill went back to work on his game with Bolton, where he plays for the Football League One side’s under-16 and under-18. He is one of the ten England-based players in the Bermuda squad, with Kalen Brunson, who plays for EFL Championship club Queens Park Rangers, unavailable.

“I’ve been doing really well, getting good minutes with boys who’ve got professional contracts already and are already in environments like that,” he said.

“We are playing football at a good intensity, speed and everything. I feel like I am where every young and aspiring professional footballer wants to be, I couldn’t ask for any better.”