Warriors snag Canada friendly, Lawrence set to announce provisional Gold Cup squad

Trinidad and Tobago will face Canada in an international friendly on 10 June in Los Angeles, just eight days before their Concacaf Gold Cup opener against Panama in Minnesota.

Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president David John-Williams suggested the fixture was a make-up game for the scrapped exhibition match against Venezuela, which was due to be held in Caracas on 29 May.

The Venezuela outing was unilaterally arranged by the TTFA president, without Board consultation, only to be cancelled due, according to a TTFA release, ‘to the ongoing political crisis and protest actions’ in the troubled South America nation.

However, the new engagement with Canada means the Warriors will have three friendlies in 2019 before going into the confederation’s showcase tournament, after a 1-0 loss away to Wales on 29 March and a second fixture scheduled for 5 June against Japan in Aichi.

Coach Dennis Lawrence’s line-up of matches going into the Gold Cup is just a game short of the outings offered to previous coaches. Coach Stephen Hart had a friendly at home to Panama and three away to Curaçao, Jordan and Haiti before the 2015 tournament while co-head coaches Hutson Charles and Jamaal Shabazz had a home fixture against Peru and travelled to face Belize, Peru, Romania and Estonia before the 2013 edition.

Trinidad and Tobago had successful quarterfinal finishes at the last two Gold Cup competitions.

Lawrence is due to select his 40-man provisional squad for the tournament tomorrow with Minnesota United attacking midfielder, Kevin Molino, expected to be included after his recent return from a long time ACL injury.

Molino has not represented the Warriors since he scored a late equaliser in a 2-2 tie with Grenada at the Ato Boldon Stadium on 11 November 2017. He represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2013 Gold Cup—and scored a vital group stage item in a 2-0 win over Honduras—but missed the 2015 tournament through injury.

This year, Lawrence is believed to have a full complement of players to choose from with no real injury concerns.

The Warriors are drawn with United States, Panama and Guyana in Group D of the Gold Cup with the winner and runners-up advancing to the knockout round.

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