Trinidad and Tobago National Under 17 Football Team head coach Anton Corneal on Monday selected a final 20-man squad to contest the CONCACAF Final Round of qualification for the 2009 FIFA Under 17 World Championship.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the World Championship in Nigeria from October 24 to November 15, 2009. The other group being contested also in Mexico includes USA, Honduras, Canada and Cuba.
T&T are coming off two back to back wins, a 3-2 win over local Pro League outfit Mau Pau FC and then another, a 2-1 win over the National Under 20 team on Monday with both goals coming from forward Jerrel Britto.
Corneal, having led the previous Under 17 team to a spot at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Championship in South Korea, is optimistic of his team’s chances.
“I think right now the squad is in the best shape possible. We had some difficulty in the last few weeks deciding on a final squad because of how much the players were pushing themselves. We have 25 players all capable of making it but unfortunately we can only take 20 to the tournament,” Corneal told TTFF Media on Tuesday.
“The team has grown in every department, physically, tactically and confidence wise. We have a couple of good tours under our belt and we’ve done pretty well against a couple local pro league teams. We’ve had one or two senior players really stepping up and hopefully this continues in the tournament.
“We know the history of Mexico and Costa Rica. They have both qualified for previous tournaments but Mexico didn’t make it last time and we know they will not make it easy for any team especially being at home this time. But we are prepared for the challenge. I think that with the right attitude and approach we can make it through,” Corneal added.
“Because of having played the likes of a Brazil National Under 17 teams as well as the teams we encountered in Colombia, we know what we will be up against in Mexico in terms of style of play. We are in pretty much excellent shape physically and this is good for us when a team has to play three matches inside six days.”
Corneal said his players are motivated by the fact that the previous U17s made it through and that the U20s have followed in similar fashion by making it to Egypt 2009.
“Yes they are definitely using it as an incentive. They have been told all year round that this opportunity comes only once at the U17 level and they have seen what qualifying for a World Cup does for players. The right examples have been set for these boys and they are eager to try and grab the opportunity ahead of them,” Corneal concluded.
The team will train at 4pm on Wednesday at the Marvin Lee Stadium before departing for Panama City on Thursday where they will play a warm up match a day later.
NATIONAL U-17 FOOTBALL SQUAD FOR MEXICO 2009
NAME D-O-B CLUB SCHOOL
GOALKEEPERS
1.John Thomas 18-11-1993 Joe Public Fatima College
2.Jamal Francois 16-09-1992 San Juan Jabloteh St. Anthony’s College
DEFENDERS
3.Akeems Grant 07-04-1992 W Connection Naparima College
4.Reshad Wint 12-02-1992 Joe Public St. Anthony’s College
5.Dwight Ceballo 06-06-1992 San Juan Jabloteh St. Anthony’s College
6.Dillon Kirton 25-04-1992 San Juan Jabloteh St. Mary’s College
7.Zavion Navarro 31-12-1992 San Juan Jabloteh St. Augustine Senior Comp.
8.Luke Hernandez 24-03-1992 San Juan Jabloteh St. Anthony’s College
9.Shaquille Stewart 10-11-1993 W Connection St. Benedict’s College
10.Omarr Charles 12-03-1992 Stokelyvale F.C. Mason Hall High School
MIDFIELDERS
11.Shahdon Winchester 08-01-1992 W Connection Naparima College
12.Ryan Mcleod 02-02-1992 Toronto FC Academy The Woodlands School, Canada
13.Vernell Ramirez 19-03-1992 San Juan Jabloteh St. Augustine Senior Comp.
14.Neil Mitchell 01-07-1992 Joe Public El Dorado Secondary
15.Moriba Ballah 03-01-1992 San Juan Jabloteh St. Anthony’s College
16.Ross Russell Jr. 09-01-1992 Defence Force Fatima College
17.Ryan Frederick 11-06-1992 W Connection Naparima College
FORWARDS
18.Cordel Cato 15-07-1992 San Juan Jabloteh St. Anthony’s College
19.Jerrel Britto 04-07-1992 San Juan Jabloteh Queen’s Royal College
20.Johan Peltier 26-03-1992 San Juan Jabloteh Mucurapo Senior Comp.
Staff
Boris Punch- Chef de Mission
Anton Corneal– Head Coach
Christopher Gouveia- Manager
Michael McComie– Ass’t Coach
Shawn Cooper- Ass’t Coach
Ross Russell- Goalkeeper Coach
Mario John- Doctor
Michael Taylor- Physio
Gilbert Bateau- Trainer
Mark Lewis- Equipment Manager
Lennox Watson- Security Officer
TTFF PRESS RELEASE
In response to concerns expressed by the parents and guardians of members of the National U-17 Team re their sons and wards participating in the CONCACAF U 17 Qualifying competition in Mexico beginning next week in Tijuana, the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation wishes to assure parents that every effort is being made to ensure the safety of the Trinidad and Tobago squad.
The delegation, which met CONCACAF President Jack Warner in his Port of Spain office, said that it was disturbed by news and reports of kidnappings of youths in Mexico especially since the start of this year.They produced several documents to support their concerns.
Based on the discussions held, President Warner, who is also TTFF Special Advisor, informed the parents that Mr Lennox Watson, Vice President and National Security Officer of the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation, shall be accompanying the T&T team throughout the duration of the tournament from April 22- May 3, 2009. Moreover Mr Warner himself would be visiting Mexico for the opening of the competition on April 22, 2009 to ascertain for himself the situation in Mexico relative to the concerns expressed by the parents and guardians. He departs from Mexico on April 23 for Aruba and Curacao to represent FIFA President Blatter on the occasion of the Goal Project in both countries.