Soca Warriors in live action at home.
By: Shaun Fuentes.
Local fans will finally get a chance to see their “Soca Warriors” in action in the flesh since their appearance at the 2006 World Cup as the national team play hosts to two friendly internationals against Nicaragua and Panama at the Hasely Crawford Stadium next month.
This was confirmed by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation as it held its first planning committee meeting for the events on Thursday. Both games will be played at the Hasely Crawford Stadium with Nicaragua playing on the 7th and Panama on the 11th.
Originally there had been intentions of matches either against El Salvador or Canada but the Central American duo were the confirmed oppositions and will provide head coach Wim Rijsbergen with an ideal chance to work on building his team towards the 2007 Gold Cup and 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Rijsbergen has already indicated that his team for the two friendlies will comprise a balance of the overseas pros as well as locally-based professionals. Both games will also be the last set for the senior team on home soil for 2006.
“This is all part of building the team for the future competitions,” Rijsbergen told TTFF Media this week. “We have seen what it is to play against the bigger teams and we have to develop the local players. But part of that process involves using the knowledge and the experience of the players we have in the foreign leagues with the players we will select from the local League. We will use these two games to work towards that because we have the Gold Cup next year and all this is part of getting the right team for the next World Cup,” Rijsbergen added.
Meantime, one player who will miss out of the two games is midfielder Silvio Spann. The former Perugia player is currently in England under rehab as he attempts to get back to full fitness following the hamstring injury which forced him out of the Germany World Cup.
Spann had been in training with Cardiff City but is not officially attached to a club due to not being one hundred percent fit. However, being a free agent, he does not have to wait until the new transfer window opens in January to sign a new deal.
“At the moment I’m focusing really hard on getting back fully fit,” Spann told TTFF Media, “I have been working out in England and trying to ensure that everything is fine with the injury. It’s not as bad as before but I’m still not back to full strength so I’m making sure that everything is done before I play again. There were a couple teams showing interest but obviously the injury held things back. I am aiming to negotiate something that will keep me as a player here,” he added.
In related news, one player Rijsbergen is sure to have his eyes on is Scottish based striker Jason Scotland who led First Division side St Johnstone to a convincing 3-0 win over Premier League team Dundee United on Tuesday. Scotland netted the first goal against his ex-team in the CIS Insurance Cup fixture.
Manager Owen Coyle later praised him and strike partner Steve Milne saying “We have a very good partnership up front and they showed their class. I was thrilled with the performance. We showed energy and enthusiasm right from the first minute and carried that throughout the game. When Jason scored, it put us on the front foot.” Scotland is currently the club’s topscorer with eight goals. He has three in the League behind leading marksman Colin McMenamin (six).
