U-20s continue with CONCACAF preparation.
By: Shaun Fuentes.[/size]
While the national Under-16 footballers were training for today's round of competition in the Caribbean Football Union Youth Cup, and a spot in the final CONCACAF qualifying round for the 2007 World Youth (Under-16) Championships in Korea, the national Under-20s are also gearing up for battle in the second CONCACAF round of qualifying for the World Under-20 Championship in Canada.
Yesterday the Under-20 squad trained alongside their Under-16 counterparts at the Hasely Crawford Stadium under the supervision of new senior national coach Wim Rijsbergen, assistant coach Jan van Deinsen, former national player Brian Williams and other members of the national senior team's technical staff.
T&T's Under-20s received a first-round bye, and will host a second round group with St Kitts/Nevis, the Dominican Republic, and the winner of a first round group featuring Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. The two groups in the CONCACAF final qualifying round will be contested in January in Panama and Mexico respectively, and four of those eight teams will go through to the 2007 FIFA World Youth Championship in Canada.
T&T Under-20 Squad:
Goalkeepers
Kareem Charles, Kevin Mussio, Nigel Thomas.
Defenders
Brendon Boucaud, Jeremie Williams, Jevon Morton, Khaleem Hyland, Kurt Williams, Marvin James.
Midfielders
Javed Mohammed, Keron Ross, Michael Brown, Nyron Orr, Qian Grosvenor, Shastri Spencer, Silas Spann, Stephen De Las.
Forwards
Carlon Hughes, Kerlon Fergusson, Kyle McIvor, Lester Peltier.
Corneal : T&T ready for challenge.
By: Shaun Fuentes.[/size]
National Under 16 head coach Anton Corneal said his team was ready for the challenge despite the short notice of the change in fixtures. T&T faces Barbados on Monday in the second game of a double header from 5pm at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella. “It really doesn’t make that much of a difference to is because all the teams are in a similar position. Surely we would have liked to go on as planned but we just need to step up and face what is put in front of us,” Corneal told TTFF Media.
“Looking back at what we have done so far, I felt our second game against Grenada was our best performance and then we had the opportunity to look at a couple more players againt Guyana and allow them that experience of playing. Now with the short notice of the change we had been planning to train Monday but we will now switch the focus now. We will be as ready as our opponents because they are in a similar situation. Our guys will be ready because they are always eager to play and that augers well for us, Corneal added.
