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The “Soca Warriors” landed in Guatemala City this afternoon with some butterflies in their stomach as they prepare to finally kick off their Russia 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign from 9.06 pm on Friday against hosts, Guatemala.
Trinidad and Tobago whipped Guatemala 3-1 at the July 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup in Chicago. But it has been 26 years since they last won in Guatemala City—thanks to a Kerry Jamerson strike in 1989—and the Warriors’ previous trip there ended in a humiliating 5-1 defeat on 26 March 2005.
(Copyright Jonathan Daniel/AFP 2015)
Defender Sheldon Bateau, the first Trinidad and Tobago footballer to play professionally in Russia, admitted that there were some nerves but suggested the Warriors were experienced enough to cope.
“Definitely there will be some nerves as we know it’s always difficult going to these countries,” Bateau told the TTFA Media, “and for most of the players it will be the first time playing a World Cup qualifier in Guatemala. But we have enough experience within the group to cope with this kind of situation.
“We just have to focus on our game and the task at hand which is getting a result. I think we are ready for whatever they throw at us.”
Bateau scored his first international goal against Guatemala, four months ago, with a header off a Khaleem Hyland corner kick and the Central American nation froze and conceded further first half items from Cordell Cato and Joevin Jones.
Guatemala are unlikely to cave as easily on Friday. Since those three T&T strikes in 14 minutes, the Central American nation conceded just four times in their subsequent 540 minutes. And Guatemala have not allowed more than a solitary goal per game in their last nine matches, which include fixtures against Mexico, Cuba, Honduras and El Salvador.
(Courtesy CONCACAF)
But then Guatemala’s problems tend to come at the other end. In their four Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers thus far against the unheralded Bermuda and the improved but un-menacing Antigua and Barbuda, “La Azul y Blanco” scored just three goals and two of those came from defenders, Stefano Cincotta and Dennis Lopez.
Captain and 35-year-old forward Carlos Ruiz scored Guatemala’s other item. The spiky striker also scored against the Warriors at the Gold Cup and it would take cool heads to deal with his provocative demeanour at the Estadio Mateo Flores.
In his last outing against Trinidad and Tobago, Ruiz twice nearly provoked brawls with a sly elbow at defender Daneil Cyrus and a stamp on goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams, which both went unpunished by the match referee.
Seattle Sounders winger Marco Pappa is the main source of creativity in the Guatemala team while the Comunicaciones duo of Kendell Herrarte and Jose Aparicio are also useful going forward.
But the Warriors, even without injured playmaker Kevin Molino, have no reason to feel inferior in Guatemala City. And coach Stephen Hart has spent most of his time focusing on his own team’s play.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
“We are always discussing (…) what we know of Guatemala but (we are) not overly concerned about their game,” said Hart. “My main concern when I’m talking to the players is about being in control of their own game, how they approach play, being tidier with the ball and how we recover the ball…”
Thus far, the Warriors’ threat has come from rapid counter-attacks, built around giant forward and captain Kenwyne Jones and speedy wingers Joevin Jones and Cordell Cato.
Guatemala favour a 3-5-2 system but abandoned that formation halfway through their last clash with Trinidad and Tobago, so as to protect themselves down either flank.
If the hosts remain as respectful of the Warriors, it could lead to a cagey fixture.
Unlike previous Trinidad and Tobago teams, Hart’s soldiers can thrive without much time on the ball or intricate forward play.
Five of Trinidad and Tobago’s eight goals at the Gold Cup came directly from set pieces, while the Warriors scored off a free kick and corner kick respectively in recently friendlies against Mexico and Panama.
(Copyright Jewel Samad/AFP 2015)
Bateau declared that, based on the squad’s experience, athleticism, chemistry and recent results, they have every reason to expect positive results away to Guatemala and at home to the United States next Tuesday.
“I think we just need to put everything into these two games as we’ve done before and even more and we can come away with two positive results,” said Bateau, a two-time FIFA World Youth Cup player. “I hope we can have a full stadium on Tuesday because as far as I can remember, whenever we played the US and I was there as a fan, the stadium was always filled when players like Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy were around.
“I would like to see that again. We need to make it our home territory and the fans need to play their part and be the extra man for us.”
Tickets for the November 17 World Cup qualifier against the US are on sale at Sports & Games, The Fan Club (Movie Towne, Trincity and Gulf City Mall), Kenny’s (Port of Spain) Ramsingh’s Sportworld (Couva), Sportway (Ellerslie Plaza and Gulf City), Heritage Sports (Tobago), Fan Zone (Centre City Mall, Chaguanas) and online at www.islandetickets.com.
The US clash will kick off at 7.30 pm while gates open at 4 pm. No coolers will be allowed at the event.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
(Trinidad and Tobago)
Goalkeepers: Jan-Michael Williams (Central FC), Marvin Phillip (Morvant Caledonia United);
Defenders: Daneil Cyrus (Chicago Fire—USA), Justin Hoyte (Dagenham & Redbridge—England), Carlyle Mitchell (Seoul E-Land—South Korea), Sheldon Bateau (FC Krylia Samara—Russia), Radanfah Abu Bakr (HB Koge—Denmark), Yohance Marshall (Murcielagos FC—Mexico), Mekeil Williams (Antigua GFC—Guatemala), Aubrey David (Shakhter Karagandy—Kazakhstan);
Midfielders: Andre Boucaud (Dagenham & Redbridge—England), Khaleem Hyland (KV Westerlo—Belgium), Kevan George (Columbus Crew—USA), Neveal Hackshaw (North East Stars);
Attacking Midfielders: Trevin Caesar (Austin Aztex—USA), Cordell Cato (San Jose Earthquakes—USA), Joevin Jones (Chicago Fire—USA), Lester Peltier (Slovan Bratislava—Slovakia), Keron Cummings (North East Stars);
Forwards: Kenwyne Jones (Cardiff City—Wales), Willis Plaza (Central FC), Jonathan Glenn (Breioablik—Iceland).
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Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.
Big points! We will take it! Not easy playing in hostile crowd! Kenwin jones goal was world class!
TNT
Time …please
9.06 pm
9.06 pm
Thank u 🙂
Will this be live on local tv?
Flow channel 99
Ok so no
Shucks.
Good Luck Guys!!!! An entire Nation supports you!!!
http://www.espnfc.com/united-states/story/2710351/tim-howard-gets-start-in-difficult-trinidad-and-tobago-match
Yep.
http://www.vavel.com/en-us/soccer/511787.html
looking out for that penetration down the left by Joevin again
They can’t seriously try us with a 3-4-3 system again. I am looking to see what they come with.
You remember that well
They would have gotten about five easy if they didn’t adjust at halftime. And I hope someone whacks Ruiz really hard. I haven’t forgotten that nasty stamp on Jan-Michael!
Having said that, I hope Cyrus keeps his cool. They will try to provoke our players.
You and this “whacking” people, smh
Hey. True team spirit is buying over your brethren’s fight. Lol. I was a good skipper back in the days.
Which ever team the coach picks i know will give their best and we will achieve our goal a draw or god willing a win impossible is nothing WARRIOR 4EVER
Based on how coach has been talking in a few press conferences since the Panama and Nicaragua games – I have a feeling that in the mid-field he will not start Cummings.
He will instead play George/Boucaud deep and Hylaand further advanced close to Kenwyne. But not as close to how Molino or Cummings would play.
However I hope my suspicion is unwarranted.
He has quite a few options Colin. But I think his squad will depend on his analysis of the opposition, and which game he doesn’t want to lose more.
I suppose it would depend on the players’ sharpness at the moment in training. Because Kevan George doesn’t play much with his club so it will be harder for him.
I would play Cummings from the start and assess then. I think we should play Guatemala on the front foot. They are beatable once we don’t drop too deep.
He will definitely want his strongest defense and attackers who defends well against USA. So I think that largely dictates his squad versus Guatemala tomorrow.
He will want his most physical players against the US I think. And his most mobile for Guatemala. That would be my guess.
Ye vs Guatemala – im almost certain Kenwyne, Joevin, Cato, Jan, Cyrus, Mekeil and Bateau will start
Its the mid-field of which 3 of Hylaand/Boucaud/Cummings/George starts and who partners Bateau at the back
My team might have Aubrey at left back and Carlyle in defence. But Abu Bakr has been in good form. I would probably go with Hyland, Boucaud and Keron and bring in Kevan as a sub.
Kevan has done very well at the Gold Cup. But I’m nervous about his lack of playing time and what it might mean over 90 minutes.
Ye don’t mind Aubrey at LB. But i get the impression that coach is trying to give splash a long run at LB.
Agree with Kevan and lack of game time, but its sort of obvious his value as DM as gone up in hearts eyes since Gold Cup – that why I made initial point about how the mid-field might b balanced
To me, the HylandJones combo did not work in the friendlies. But I guess it makes sense to play it safe and bring on Cummings later on. On the other hand, Cummings was instrumental to our fast starts in the Gold Cup and that is how we beat Guatemala then…putting them on the back foot from miinute one
Well Lasana Liburd could correct me – but didn’t the Hayland/Jones combo run for the last 15-20 minutes in the Nicaragua game only?
Defending higher up the field worked for us against Guatemala in the World Cup. One possible reason could be they didn’t know much about Jones @ LW, or Cato @ RW, and as Lasana said they played a 3-4-3. They will learn from their mistakes, so it’s about being canny tomorrow.
Yes. Hyland hasn’t played that high much. I agree with Kion about starting on the front foot. And they will be wiser about our wingers, like Kirwin said, and maybe that might mean more space inside for Cummings once he gets close to Kenwyne.
Tomorrow – Cyrus, Bateau, Abu Bakr, David; Hyland, Boucaud, JJ, Peltier; Kenwyne & Glenn.
On Tuesday…Mr. Mitchell starts for me 🙂
Interesting this convo but right now is cummings and any ten!!
Jan Michael, Cyrus, Bateau, Bakr, Williams, Hyland, George, Cummings, Cato, Jones and KJ
Come on guys get out of that of mind . Just think of beating them u guys gone there to play a game now pull y’all self together and think win win win make T&T proud love u guys now let’s do this ??????
#Russia2018
So 540 minutes for them since the Gold Cup match. How many for us? And how many goals did we concede and score?
We have played roughly 500 minutes since then. We scored 12 goals and conceded nine.
I AM A SOCA WARRIOR
Nerves and some well-timed, rightly timed jitters is always good – these even for the best of the best especially when the stakes are high and the opponent, formidable. The test is truly up to us not paying too much attention to our recent past results 4-4, and 3-3 against Mexico, 2-1 win over Panama in South America’s closest neighbors, and a unwanted 0-0 to Nicaragua at home. The important thing is that none of these games were of dire importance even though the 4-4 was the only one that was not a “Friendly” but, of no true significance since we were into the Quarters in that Gold Cup encounter. This game is the one that shall test us and even though we had a 3-1 victory over them in the Gold Cup, we know what they are capable of at home and in how fierce they can be in WC games. The one thing that we can be added in our favor is Guatemala’s unpredictability in games. We can use Jack Warner’s famous line that, “today is today and tomorrow is tomorrow” to define Guatemala’s consistency of play. Not too long ago, even under Coach Hart, we held a similar reputation and Friday this will be tested. Good luck fellas and do what you have been doing of late, play for God, your country, your name, and, when all is exhausted, your, coach.