Bermuda interim coach John Barry Nusum took full advantage of an opportunity to run the rule over his young squad in a training scrimmage against Rhode Island FC at Centreville Bank Stadium on Wednesday night.

The former Philadelphia KiXX forward fielded two separate teams during the 60-minute scrimmage as he tries to find the right blend to take on World Cup debutants Cape Verde at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut on Saturday and with other upcoming international commitments on the near horizon.

The scrimmage ended in a 4-0 defeat to their USL Championship opponents who managed by former New England Revolution and Bermuda winger Khano Smith, but Nusum is not concerned by the result.

“To be fair it was more of a training exercise utilising two different formations and two different groups to try out a couple of things in preparation for Saturday,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“We had two different squads playing in a 30-minute scrimmage, so it was a good exercise just to see who can play in certain roles, see who is comfortable and who is not so comfortable.

“We just changed it around to get a feel for everybody because we only had one session yesterday morning and then a little match play last night as part of the training for Saturday.”

Bermuda’s squad contains a host of young players that have been granted an opportunity to prove themselves at this level as the national coaching staff look to the future.

“This is a very young team with lot of the senior players just coming off of their season and getting a bit of rest right now,” Nusum said.

“The first couple of days has been getting the training sessions together and making sure the guys understand their roles while looking to see who is capable, giving an effort and who wants to be in this particular group come Nations League in September.”

Nusum is grateful for the assistance provided by former Bermuda team-mate Smith in the Gombey Warriors’ preparations for Saturday’s friendly with African side Cape Verde.

“Khano was a massive assistance for us as far as anything that we needed done from his facilities team to us having the field for training usage,” he said.

“Khano is always willing to help out Bermuda in any space and it was good to catch up with him.”

Smith, who scored eight goals in 100 appearances for the New England Revolution, is delighted to have offered his assistance to the senior national team.

“It was good to host them,” he said. “Both teams got out of it what they needed.”

Nusum’s coaching staff for the training camp also includes Dandy Town coach Jarreau Hayward and Hornets stalwart and former Bermuda captain Danté Leverock.

“I’ve known Jarreau for a while and he’s a very good coach and student of the game,” Nusum said.

“Danté obviously is just coming off from being a player and the passion that he has for Bermuda as a whole is breathtaking. He is bringing that energy of having been a player and knowing where these guys are at, so it’s a very good balance right now with the group that we have.”

The match against Cape Verde will be the second time in recent weeks that Bermuda have played a team who will be in action at the World Cup after they lost 2-0 against the Democratic Republic of Congo in an international friendly in March.