Trinidad and Tobago's Under-20 footballers will leave today for Suriname where they will contest the opening leg of the final Caribbean Football Union World Cup qualifier on December 10.
The Zoran Vranes-coached team will face Suriname there and then return home for the second leg at a date to be confirmed, depending on Suriname's travel arrangements to Port of Spain.
At a training session at the Marvin Lee Stadium on Friday, Vranes welcomed defender Akeem Adams back into the team after he missed the previous tie with St Vincent and the Grenadines due to injury. And Vranes is keen on having senior team defender Joevin Jones and Shahdon Winchester in his line-up as he knows very little of what Suriname have to offer.
"I don't have much information on their current team but based on my experience of them over the years I know they always have a lot of potential at the youth level and therefore we cannot afford to take them lightly," Vranes told TTFF media officer Shaun Fuentes.
"This leg is important because it would be good to secure a good result there and then come home for the next match. This is our last step before the final round in Guatemala next year and so I want to have the best players available. We are happy to have Joevin back, of course, because we gave him to the senior team you remember, so now we will have him with us again.
"This team has a lot of potential and I think they can go on to be even better than the previous Under-20s, but we must show it out there and get the results that will put us down as a winning team," Vranes added.
TTFF technical director Lincoln Phillips last week stressed the importance of the younger generation of Trinidad and Tobago players to develop the right habits so as to avoid some of the problems now plaguing T&T at the senior international level.
"We've seen some good progress at the youth level and this was evident with the kind of talent we see on the senior team now with guys like Molino and Cyrus coming out of the past Under-17 and Under-20 teams.
But we have got to continue placing special emphasis on the right development at the youth level and not allow ourselves to get complacent because of good talent or results," said Phillips.
"The bad habits or deficiencies we are now seeing in some of our players and our approach to the game is being worked on but must also be addressed and erased during the early youth development phase, so in that way it becomes less difficult when the players reach on the senior international stage."
Team
Goalkeepers
Jamaal Francois (San Juan Jabloteh), John Thomas (Joe Public).
Defenders
Jerron Quashie (Stokely Vale), Dinell Lopez (St Augustine SC), Sheldon Bateau (San Juan Jabloteh), Jerron Morris (Defence Force), Wesley John (W Connection), Akil Clarke (St Ann’s Rangers).
Midfielders
Shahdon Winchester (W Connection), Marcus Joseph (Joe Public), Kenaz Williams (Joe Public), Ryan Fredericks (W Connection), Dion McCree (Unknown), Kevin Raymond (Naparima College), Dwight Ceballo (Ma Pau).
Forwards
Cordell Cato (San Juan Jabloteh), Ross Russell Jr (Defence Force), Jerrel Britto (San Juan Jabloteh), Johan Peltier (San Juan Jabloteh).
Technical staff: - Zoran Vranes (coach), Hutson Charles (assistant), Dale Saunders (assistant), Cheryl Abrams (manager), Gilbert Bateau (trainer), Adisa Davis (physio), Michael Williams (equipment manager).
1st Leg
Date: - December 10, 2010, Suriname 17:00 T&T
Venue: - André-Kamperveen-Stadion, Paramaribo
Return-Leg
Date: - December 19, 2010, T&T 15:00 Suriname
Venue: - Marvin Lee Stadium, Tunapuna