T&T U-17s prepare for hostile WCQ finale, as Costa Rica changes venue for showdown

Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Under-17 Team head coach Shawn Cooper is preparing his troops for the most hostile environment of their brief football careers thus far as the young Soca Warriors prepare for two decisive Concacaf Under-17 Qualifiers in four days.

On Thursday 13 February, captain Nikosi Foncette will lead his teammates out to face table proppers Sint Maarten from 6pm at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica in San Jose.

Victory for the young Warriors will move them to within three points of a spot at the Qatar 2025 Fifa U-17 World Cup. To get there, though, Trinidad and Tobago must defeat hosts Costa Rica.

And, to further complicate things, the Costa Rica Football Federation moved the decisive fixture from its National Stadium in San Jose to the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela.

With potentially a World Cup place on the line, the Trinidad and Tobago teenagers would be playing in a venue they have not competed in before. However, Cooper suspects that there might be another reason for the stadium swap.

Costa Rica’s national stadium, nicknamed La Joya de La Sabana (The Jewel of the Savanna), is a US$110 mil venue opened in March 2011 and seats 35,062 persons. But the young Costa Rica players have been unable to fill the ground thus far.

The Alajuela venue, coined La Catedral del Futbol and in existence since 1942, holds 18,895 supporters and has a rich football history. Cooper believes the hosts have what they hope to be a raucous surprise in store for the two-island republic.

“We have acclimatised to the ground at that [national] stadium and now they move the final game,” Cooper told Wired868. “I have not seen the ground yet but I expect it would be a tighter stadium with more atmosphere, whereas now [in San Jose] we are playing in a huge stadium, so the seating is a good distance away from the field.

“I am guessing [the Alajuela ground] is one where there is less space between the field and the stands and you have a crowd that feels as though they are right on top of you.

“It brings in the 12th man into play—and they will already have the 13th, 14th and 15th man with them. I do not need to tell you who those are!

“This is Concacaf football: big fish against small fish. But we are going at them without fear!”

The Warriors opened their U-17 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-1 draw with Guyana in San Jose last Friday. It was the first international game played by Cooper’s full-strength team, after the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) turned down a pre-tournament competition in Mexico and then failed to land them proposed exhibition games in Panama.

And, in the end, an error by talented 14-year-old goalkeeper Levi Williams proved costly.

Trinidad and Tobago conceded a cheap goal in their 3-1 triumph over the British Virgin Islands on Tuesday too, although Cooper insisted, with some justification, that his goalkeeper was fouled in that instance.

“He is 14 and, if you see him in training, you will know he has a bright future,” said Cooper. “It was a shock to us when he dropped the first one [against Guyana] because he has a very clean pair of hands—but the pressure of international games is different.

“[…] We are looking at preparing for a World Cup and we should be looking at the international experience of the big teams. That should be the level we are aspiring to. We should be looking at the international games that Jamaica got coming into the tournament, for instance. We wanted our boys to get that same opportunity.

“[…] The boy would have been able to make those mistakes and learn from them, if we got those practice games. But now you have to learn from your mistakes in an international competition where the results determine whether you go to a world cup or not. You are doing on the job training.

“There is no simulation for an international game. You can play how many training games against local club teams but it doesn’t equate to playing an international friendly.”

In the last two months, the Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team played one friendly away to Saudi Arabia and two against Jamaica. Such experiences might have been invaluable to the National Under-17 players.

But, regardless, Cooper’s troops aim to produce a shocker in Alajuela.

“We knew what we wanted—we asked, we didn’t get it,” said Cooper. “As a parent, you know what your children need to succeed. But you also know that you cannot give up on them, you still have to go forward and do your best with whatever you have.

“[…] Even if we know it wasn’t enough and it could have been better, we are still in the situation and we are giving it our all to be successful. And in the end, we hope what we are doing will get us across the line.”

Cooper insisted that his players will not get ahead of themselves though. Before their showdown with Costa Rica, there is still a game to be won against Sint Maarten.

The Dutch islanders conceded 19 goals without scoring from three games against the BVI, Guyana and Costa Rica thus far. Tomorrow’s outing is their fourth game in seven days, whereas Trinidad and Tobago have not played since Sunday.

But Cooper said he will point to Liverpool’s recent loss to lower league team, Plymouth Argyle, in the English FA Cup as the danger of counting out unfancied opposition.

“That will be their last game and I am sure they would like to finish with a win or a draw, some kind of positive result as they’re leaving Costa Rica,” said Cooper.

Trinidad and Tobago were without Canada-based playmaker Dominic Joseph for their last game, after he limped out of the match against Guyana. And Arima North Secondary utility player Criston ‘CJ’ Gomez mustered just 25 minutes so far in the competition, against the BVI.

Cooper said both players are hampered by calf issues and he is handling them as carefully as possible.

“We are trying to manage them and the minutes they play, so we can have them on the park at crucial times,” said the veteran coach. “In the case of CJ, I think it has affected his game a bit and you are seeing it in the sessions. But he is there plugging away.”

Trinidad and Tobago used a 4-2-3-1 formation against Guyana but switched to a 3-4-1-2 against the BVI. It was a tactical adjustment made primarily to bypass the BVI’s high press, but Cooper said he might use the latter formation again in this competition.

He believes that the pairing of two big mobile forwards, Phillip Nelson and Josiah Kallicharan, could be a handful for any Concacaf opposition, once used correctly. And he is looking for ways to unsettle the hosts—although, at present, the two forward combo remains a work in progress.

“Both of them are accustomed to playing by themselves as the single striker,” said Cooper. “So we are trying to get them to cooperate with each other and be in sync with each other. It worked at times [against the BVI] and other times it didn’t work as we wanted. But these things take time.

“We hope session by session we can work it out; so when we get into full swing, it works… We are leaving no stones unturned [to qualify for the World Cup].

“We know we have to win our remaining games and we will have to take chances. We are preparing for that one time.”

Cooper suggested that Costa Ricans believe their current under-17 crop represent a golden generation. He too is impressed by the mature decision-making of their players as well as the movement of their front five.

“You see the difference in the maturity and development of their players,” said the coach, “and the level of competition they played in the last couple of months would have helped, as it allowed them to see what they had to work on [before the tournament].

“They are ready. There is a big difference when players get those international games. It gives them more experience [and] they become more educated in the game.”

However, Cooper has faith in his team’s defensive structure—with the indomitable St Benedict’s College defender Adam ‘Toka’ Pierre playing a key role—while he believes Trinidad and Tobago’s mobility and organisation should give Costa Rica their toughest game of the competition.

Perhaps mindful of that, the hosts sacrificed potential gate receipts in San Jose for a fiercer atmosphere in Alajuela when they tackle the Soca Warriors.

The Trinidad and Tobago contingent travelled with a mental coach, Richard Horsham, and he has a job to do. For most of Cooper’s players, the toughest environment they have faced so far is an away Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) match with between 400 to 4,000 supporters.

Sunday’s showdown will be something else entirely.

Cooper noted too that most of his players, who had a two-week camp at the Home of Football before leaving for Central America, have been away from their families for longer than they have ever been before as well.

It is a tough learning curve for the young men and he urged the Trinidad and Tobago public to support them.

“The boys are focused, they are working hard [and] trying their best to honour the Trinidad and Tobago flag and make their parents proud,” said the coach.

In the end, he thinks the two dropped points against Guyana are inconsequential. In his opinion, the Warriors were always likely to be entering their final game needing a victory against Costa Rica.

“This game was always going to be a showdown,” he said. “[…] Whether or not we dropped points, we are the two highest ranked teams and one has to defeat the other.

“They are the home team, they are the seeded team, and we have to go and defeat them. If you want to go to a World Cup, you have to prepare the best and you have to beat the best. So, when you are playing for all the marbles, it will show whose preparation was best.”

Sint Maarten in San Jose should be the mock exam. But Costa Rica in Alajuela on Sunday will be a test that stays in the minds of 21 talented young Trinidad and Tobago footballers for a very long time.

(Trinidad and Tobago National Under-17 team)

Goalkeepers: 1.Levi Williams (Inter Miami—USA), 18.Necose Moore (Chaguanas North Secondary), 21.Mikhail Clement (Naparima College/ Cox’s Coaching School);

Defenders: 20.Sheridan McNish (New England Revolution—USA), 3.Jimally Renne (Presentation College San F’do/ Pt Fortin YA), 13.Chaz Williams, 17.Quinton John (both Inter Miami—USA), 4.Adam Pierre (St Benedict’s College/ Point Fortin Civic), 2.Talan McMillan (Chargers MLS Next—USA), 5.Jaydon Caprietta (Naparima College/ Cox Coaching School);

Midfielders: 8.Criston Gomez (Arima North Secondary/ QPCC FC), 6.Nikosi Foncette (Presentation College San F’do/ Crowne Trace FC), 16.Seth Hadeed (Fatima College/ QPCC FC), 15.Eran McLeod (St Mary’s College/ San Juan Jabloteh), 10.Dominic Joseph (Vancouver FC—Canada), 12.Caden Trestrail (Fatima College/ Defence Force);

Attackers: 11.Timothy Valentine (TSF Academy—USA), 7.Jasai Theophilus (QRC/ Pro Series), 14.Adasa Richardson (Naparima College/ Cox Coaching School), 9.Phillip Nelson (QRC), 19.Josiah Kallicharan (Eastbourne United—England).

Staff: Shawn Cooper (head coach), Vernetta Flanders (manager), Devin Elcock (assistant coach), Jefferson George (assistant coach), Gilbert Bateau (trainer), John Jerry (equipment manager), Michael Taylor (physio), Chantal Cooper (team doctor), Richard Horsham (mental coach).