By FIFAworldcup.comTrinidad & Tobago boss Bertille St. Clair has called up 20 players for a week-long training camp in Miami ahead of next week's qualifier against Guatemala. Thirteen of the 20 are foreign-based professionals, compared to home-grown Guatemala's two.
Leading the overseas contingent are goalkeeper Shaka Hislop of English Premiership side Portsmouth, Birmingham City's Dwight Yorke and journeyman Stern John currently of Coventry City. The trio all played in T&T's first final-round qualifier –
a 1-2 loss to the USA at home on 9 February.
Also, the coach has called on Rangers defender Marvin Andrews, Dundee's Brent Sancho, Wrexham duo Carlos Edwards and Hector Sam, and the Japan-based Silvio Spann.
St. Claire will surely be hoping his stable of minor stars can help secure the side's first points of the campaign on 26 March on the road at the Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City. The clash will prove a tough test for the only remaining Caribbean side in the six-team CONCACAF 'Hexagonal' as the Central Americans have a spate of attacking options, including the Los Angeles Galaxy duo of
Carlos "El Pescadito" Ruiz, and Guillermo Ramirez.
T&T's Miami training camp was initially supposed to include a friendly with Honduras, but the game was cancelled when the teams were recently drawn in the same group for this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup. St. Clair still intends to play a friendly against a team to be named at a later date.
But despite a poor start to the campaign and an upcoming clash against a significantly improved Guatemala -
who drew 0-0 with Panama in their opener – St. Clair is in optimistic mood.
Domestic concern or foreign policy?"The squad of players we have put together is a well-rounded one and we expect them to rise to the call in what is our first away game of the round," St. Clair said. "We will be gathering in Miami before the match and this is an important phase because the majority of our players are from outside and this gives us a chance to get together and get ready."
Guatemala boss Ramón "El Primitivo" Maradiaga, for his part, has planned a training camp for 21 players to prepare for what will be the Central American side's home opener. The Honduran-born coach is hoping for a wild crowd to help tip the balance against St. Clair's Caribbean outfit.
"This game is important to us and we hope to be supported by our fans at the Mateo Flores stadium. We will do our best to put on a great show for them," he remarked recently.
Maradiaga is also planning to set a spy in place for Trinidad's friendly in the United States. "I don't know if I or someone else will be at Miami to watch Trinidad but we surely want to see what they have to offer," he added.
Aside from the MLS tandem of Ruiz and Ramirez, the 19 remaining Guatemalan squad members play their club football at home – a fact that Maradiaga has trumpeted as a huge training advantage. With six players from Comunicaciones and five from Municipal, the nation's traditional top two clubs are well represented.
