Bermuda will immediately be put to the sword against host nation St.Vincent and the Grenadines in Kingston, St.Vincent on November 24 when Digicel Cup Group E matches kick off in earnest in the Caribbean.

And national team coach Kyle Lightbourne believes the draw could be a blessing in disguise as his opponents ? currently listed as 146 on the FIFA world rankings ? will not be afforded an opportunity to size up Bermuda?s squad until the actual day of the match.

?I am very happy with this because they won?t get to see us play,? said Lightbourne yesterday as he observed the Martonmere Cup final at Somerset Cricket Club.

Bermuda?s match with St.Vincent will be crucial as it could go a long way towards determining which country clinches overall group victory and avoids regional powerhouse Trinidad and Tobago in the second round of the inaugural competition ? the first step on the road to next July?s CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament in the USA.

Trinidad, currently ranked 64th in the world, are heavily favoured to win Group D in the Digicel Cup, which also contains Suriname, Puerto Rico and Grenada. And the winners from Group D will play the runners-up from Group E in the second round while the Group D runners-up will meet the winners of Group E.

Lightbourne divulged that plans were in progress to have the Island send a scout to Trinidad and Tobago next Wednesday to assess both Trinidad and St.Vincent when the two Caribbean countries meet in a friendly.

?One of our representatives will be there,? Lightbourne confirmed. ?And I think it will be great for us to get a chance to see both teams play in the event we do successfully advance (to the second round).?

Bermuda are scheduled to play Cayman Islands in their second Group E match on November 26 before finishing off first round action against the British Virgin Islands on November 28.

The top two teams from each group advance to the second round of the competition which begins on December 12.

?So this could be a blessing in disguise because they (St.Vincent) are not going to know anything about us,? explained Lightbourne. ?Hopefully we will be able to spring a surprise on them.?

The Digicel Cup competition consist of 24 teams placed into six groups of four with the two top teams from each group progressing to the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) second round qualifiers, composed of six home-and-away series matches ? the first leg on December 12 and the return leg a week later on December 19.

All second round winners then advance to the third round where they will take part in three home-and-away encounters, starting on January 9, 2005, with the eventual victors joining host nation Barbados in the CFU final round of qualification in late February.

The region?s top three teams will secure Caribbean berths and advance to next July?s CONCACAF Gold Cup competition in the USA.

Bermuda have stepped up their preparations with the competition now less than two weeks away, with Lightbourne expected to hold at least three training sessions this week.

The Island are currently ranked 159 in the world following defeat against El Salvador in the second round of World Cup qualifying earlier this year.