Trinidad and Tobago will be aiming to turn the tables on their Mexican counterparts when they clash with the host team in the return leg semi-final round World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Cauhtemoc in Puebla from 8:30pm (9:30 pm T&T time) on Wednesday.
Skipper Angus Eve and his Trinidad and Tobago teammates arrived at the Airport in Mexico City just after 4pm on Monday to a host of television cameras and reporters as the Mexican media swamped the team as they cleared immigrations and were about to board the team bus.
Coach Bertille St Clair could have been seen on several local stations later that night as he made statements on Sunday’s 5-1 victory over St Kitts/Nevis and his team´s chances in Wednesday’s qualifier against the Mexicans.
Though it being a case where both teams are virtually through to the final stage, the game seems to still have much hype surrounding it as the Mexicans will be aiming to follow up on their 3-1 win in Port of Spain.
T&T arrived and checked in at the Fietamericana Hotel in Puebla which is a two-hour drive from Mexico City. The team spent most of the day relaxing before an evening training session at the Stadium which has a capacity of 45,000 and is expected to be a near sell out according to officials here. Reporters and cameramen from TV Azeteca, Gol TV. Galavision among others even spent most of Tuesday at the Hotel as they grabbed every chance possible to get interviews and other video footage of the T&T contingent. St Clair and company which included FIFA Vice President Jack Warner and TTFF General Secretary Richard Groden among other officials as well as members of the Angostura Woodbrook Playboyz Steel Orchestra, also arrived to news that Mexico striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco and midfielder Israel Lopez will miss Wednesday´s game through injury. Blanco, who made his international comeback after a 20-month absence in last week's 7-0 thrashing of St Vincent & Grenadines, has a thigh strain in his right leg. Lopez took a knock on his left knee during Sunday's return against St Vincent in Kingstown, which Mexico won by a more modest 1-0. The hosts will also be without Rafael Marquez after agreeing to let him return to Spanish club Barcelona to prepare for a derby with Espanyol this weekend. But topscorers Jared Borgetti and Jesus Arellano are in the squad.
Coach St Clair is expecting a fighting performance from his team which is the strongest to ever play a competitive match in Mexico. The last two outings saw T&T field somewhat second eleven teams as by then they were already through to the final stage in 2002 and for the final round encounter, T&T were already out of the running.
This time around the likes of Stern John, Marvin Andrews, Brent Sancho, Cornell Glen, Brent Rahim, Ian Cox and Errol McFarlane are some of those who will be making their first appearance on Mexican soil in T&T colours. T&T will however be without utility player Anthony Rougier who picked up his second yellow card in the last outing while defender Marlon Rojas is nursing an ankle injury. “We are not here to be afraid of any team,” St Clair told TTFF Media. “We are coming off a good performance against St Kitts and while we are away to Mexico, we have to believe in ourselves and go out there and play with the belief that we can do it. We are here on business and all the reporters here have been asking about if we have seen the City and what we think about it but we are here to play football and everything else comes after.”
“We are using this game also to prepare for what is to come later down the road and therefore everything is vital from here on. We expect that it will be a tough game and the Mexicans are not going to take any chances and the fans will come out in their numbers. These are all aspects of the football that will make us a stronger team and hopefully we can take all the valuables out of this short stay.”
Defender Sancho couldn’t have put his feelings across in a better way as he explained how important it is for the team to avoid taking anything for granted.
“For us to be successful in the other matches coming up we have to continue playing well for longer periods. We need to become a team that is difficult to beat. This is one of the biggest games of my career and I don’t think Mexico is far beyond us. We dominated parts of the last game when they won 3-1 and we need to take the positives out of it. This is a massive game for us,” he said. “We still have not played a perfect game as yet and there is still a lot of work to be done but at the same time I think there were some positives coming out of Sunday’s win (against St Kitts/Nevis) particularly in terms of it being a confidence booster for us. Winning is a habit and it can only auger well for us. The City of Puebla is described here as a beautiful colonial one also known as the “City of Angels” and the match venue is way closer to sea level as compared the Azteca. Time alone will now tell what is in store for T&T come Wednesday night when El Salvador’s Rodolfo Sibrian blows the opening whistle to kick off proceedings.
Team:
Shaka Hislop (Portsmouth), Ian Cox (Gillingham), Marvin Andrews (Glasgow Rangers), Brent Rahim (Falkirk) Andre Boucaud (Peterborough), Kenwyne Jones (Southampton), Brent Sancho (Dundee), Cornell Glen (New York/New Jersey MetroStars), Errol McFarlane (Al Nejmeh), Dennis Lawrence (Wrexham), Stern John (Coventry City), Marlon Rojas (Joe Public), Derek King (Joe Public), Silvio Spann (Vibe CT 105 W Connection), Denzil Theobald (Arima Morvant Fire), Angus Eve (Jabloteh), Daurance Williams (Jabloteh), Keyeno Thomas (Jabloteh), Jerren Nixon (North East Stars).