“Talent right down to the 30th player!” T&T U-20 and U-17 teams tipped to shine

Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) technical director Anton Corneal suggested that Soca Warriors fans have reason for optimism based on the improved quality of young players on the training ground.

The National Men’s Under-20 and Under-17 Teams both started preparation in December, with their respective training pools decided upon based on recommendations from coaches as well as performances in the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) competitions.

In the case of the Boys’ High Performance Team, which is a de facto National Under-13 outfit, there are open screening sessions underway at present.

With National Under-20 head coach Brian Haynes abroad for much of the Christmas period, Corneal has taken some sessions himself and is impressed by the ability within the team.

He suggested that it is the deepest pool of players he can remember seeing for some time, with as many three talented boys competing for every position.

“When I say ‘deep’, I mean there is talent right down to the 30th player, which is not something you see that often,” Corneal told Wired868. “The difference between the players [when selecting the final team] will be the appetite and attitude towards winning. Technically I think they are above average, and physically some of them are very good.

“Of course, how they stand up to the challenges of the international game we will only know when we get to the competition… But I can see this team being able to compete—not only at the youth level, but I can see the base of a team that is ready to compete to form the national senior team.”

Trinidad and Tobago will host Group D of the Concacaf Under-20 qualifying round from Friday 23 February at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain.

The junior Soca Warriors open their campaign against St Vincent and the Grenadines, while they will battle Dominica on Sunday 25 February and then challenge Canada on Tuesday 27 February.

Only the group winner advances to the next round to challenge for a berth at the Chile 2025 Fifa Under-20 World Cup.

Canada, a resurgent force in Concacaf of late, are Group D favourites. But Corneal believes the young Warriors will push them hard.

“Of course, the go-to team is Canada, who are probably the seeded team [in our group],” said Corneal, “but being at home, we will be very competitive. It will be a great time for us to play at home.

“We have not gotten the chance to hold a youth tournament of this level at Trinidad for some time, as most have been going to places like the Dominican Republic—so I am happy we are getting that chance in a youth tournament so our people can experience that.”

Trinidad and Tobago defeated Canada en route to qualification for the Fifa Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups in 2007 and 2009 respectively but have not won since. Still, Corneal said the games are usually “very competitive”.

Last February, Canada held off Trinidad and Tobago 3-2 in Guatemala in the first group stage match of the Concacaf Under-17 Championship. The North Americans led 2-0 after an hour against a T&T side that went down to 10 players within the first 20 minutes.

However, second half goals from Malachi Webb and Lindell Sween saw Trinidad and Tobago recover and nearly snatch a point.

Sween and Webb are members of that Under-17 team who are favoured to break into the current Under-20 side, along with defender Lyshaun Morris, attacker Michael Chaves and the overseas-based quartet of goalkeeper Ailan Panton, midfielder Jeremiah Cateau, forward Tyrell Moore and right back Rio Cardines.

Flanker Derrel “Zoom Zoom” Garcia, who left St Benedict’s College for the Intercity International Football Academy in Alicante, Spain on 24 September 2023, has also committed to playing in the Concacaf qualifiers.

And ex-San Juan North Secondary forward Larry Noel, now at junior college in the States, is also eligible and trained with the team last month.

National Under-17 head coach Shawn Cooper led the team at the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship and has assisted Haynes thus far to ensure “a smooth transition”, according to the technical director.

Corneal said there were over 50 players in training over the Christmas period, inclusive of overseas players—just seven weeks before their opening qualifier.

“We worked on technical fitness and the intensity we would like players to work towards,” he said. “We also played some small-sided games which replicated the real game in transition, to see which players were able to step up to certain scenarios we created.

“The sessions were all based on getting them game-ready, so when Brian gets here we have started that process for him.”

Haynes returns to Trinidad next week and is expected to trim the training squad. However, Corneal is so enthused by the quality available that he wants to keep tabs on the entire pool.

“We will have to trim the numbers to get a group of players ready to play,” he said, “but I am even thinking about keeping the second group active and maybe have sessions for them once a week.

“Some boys need a little more time and maybe they will come into their own in six or seven months’ time. So, we want to keep an eye on them for the future.”

Haynes will be assisted by Marvin Gordon and Gilbert Bateau for the Under-20 qualifying competition, while Cooper has Devin Elcock as his National Under-17 Team assistant.

Former national stand-outs Densill Theobald and Yohance Marshall head the Boys’ High Performance technical staff, aided by youth director Paul Decle.

Corneal also explained that Fatima College Under-16 team head coach Kerdyn Moe and Arima North Secondary technical director Wayne Sheppard were also brought in to work with the various youth teams, as part of a grooming process.

“In the past, coaches were only prepared with courses—but a course doesn’t tell you how to prepare a national team that plays three games in five days,” said Corneal. “So before, we would just take a coach from schools’ football and say ‘you are a national coach’ and he has to figure out how to get ready for a Concacaf competition.

“But what we are trying to do now is identify possible future national coaches, who are coaches with the B license or higher that we think have the right leadership qualities.

“So while in the past we had too many people learning on the job, we are trying to make sure there is continuity—so someone who comes into the programme comes with some sort of knowledge.”

Corneal also sees huge potential in the current Men’s National Under-17 pool, which consists primarily of boys who played in the Concacaf Under-15 Championship last August.

Trinidad and Tobago finished bottom of Group D but managed a 2-0 win over Costa Rica and were competitive in 2-1 losses to Honduras and Puerto Rico. The U-15s went on to defeat Qatar 3-0 in the playoff.

Fifteen-year-old playmaker Caden Trestrail scored the goal that secured Fatima College’s first Premier Division league title against Naparima College last October, while his national teammate Nikosi Foncette was a key midfielder for Presentation College (San Fernando) as they lifted the National Intercol trophy.

Speyside High midfielder Riquelme Phillips, St Benedict’s College defender Adam Pierre, Malick Secondary defender Isaiah David, and the Arima North duo of Criston Gomez and Stephen Ollivierie were among the National Under-15 players who featured prominently in the SSFL Premier Division last year, which is an under-20 competition.

While Corneal thinks the stream of high-level coaching courses played a role in the improved quality of players within the Under-20 squad, he credited the High Performance programme for an equally encouraging National Under-17 pool.

“The base of the Under-17 pool comes out from the high performance programme and the boys who had the opportunity to play last year in the Concacaf U-15 [tournament],” he said, “and we saw areas that were very encouraging. Yes, we lost to Honduras in a very competitive game, but we beat Costa Rica who are usually a little bit better than us—and at times we dominated them.

“When you look at Qatar with one of the best national academies in the world, Aspire, and we were able to beat them. Now that is not the end-all but it shows us what we have.

“They just need the necessary exposure so we can continue to grow as a group.”

Corneal also credited better coordination or cooperation between various football stakeholders for the supposed upswing in local talent.

“We have a lot of people who are on the same page,” he said. “A lot of coaches are on the same page and also our technical department. We are also getting support from the Secondary Schools Football League, the SporTT Company, the Ministry of Sport—we have over 90 registered academies and a lot of them are bringing their players out to participate in competitions like the Republic Cup.

“This is the ripple effect that we are starting to see and will hopefully continue to see over a period of time.”

Trinidad and Tobago football fans will hope to see proof of that particular pudding in February, when the young Soca Warriors do battle with Canada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica in Port of Spain.

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