Sachiel Ming ’24 (right) with a teammate on the Bermuda National Team. Photo provided.
Only a couple weeks after starring at the CONCACAF U20 qualifiers, Sachiel Ming ‘24 received the call-up to play for the Bermuda Men’s national team in Saudi Arabia, where he played two international friendlies against Guinea and Brunei. The Bermuda Men’s National team looked to increase their current world ranking (171) before crucial World Cup qualifiers in June.
Playing for the Bermuda National team has always been a dream of Sachiel’s. “Ever since I was young, I dreamt of playing for the national team. I wouldn’t have believed it if someone told me I would be able to play for the national team at 18.” Sachiel is finishing his senior year and is preparing to play for the 2022 National champions, Syracuse University.
When asked about his reaction to the call-up, Sachiel said, “I was astonished; I called my brother, who also played for the National team in the past, straight away. I felt honored and proud to be a Bermudian.
“It is inspirational to see someone who I shared a room with and who I am so close to achieving this,” said Jace Donowa ‘25, a fellow Bermudian. “Every Bermudian kid wants to represent their country, and seeing him do it is truly amazing,” Donowa added.
Ming is a key leader on Northwood’s U19 team. He leads by example on the field and mentors the younger kids. Ming’s absence from the U19 team while with the national squad affected his U19 squad. The U19s were forced to continue playing in prestigious tournaments without him. They did well to solve the problem.
Sachiel made his national team debut against Brunei; he came on with 5 minutes to go in stoppage time. Bermuda won the game 2-0. Sachiel said, “Making my senior debut was special. It took me a while to adjust to the level of training earlier in the week, but I made that adjustment, which helped me during the game. Wearing the pink and blue felt exactly like I thought it would,” he added. Sachiel also played in their second game against Guinea. Unfortunately, Bermuda lost 5-1, but Sachiel played 15 minutes in that game.
Machai Davis ‘25, another Northwood Bermudian, said, “I watched the end of the game, and it was good to see Sachiel out there. He didn’t look out of place playing against professionals who play in Europe.”
Sachiel is now returning to Bermuda, where he will spend spring break with his family. He will return to Northwood after the break and finish his final months at Northwood.