National U-20s and U-17s to step up preparations.

[Flex]

National U-20s and U-17s to step up preparations.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).

Just like the National Senior Team, this country’s National Under 20 and Under 17 National Football Teams could be heading to South America to intensify preparations for their upcoming World Cup Qualifying campaigns

The National Under 20 team is carded to head to Sao Paolo, Brazil on January 18 for a ten-day training camp while plans are being confirmed for the National U-17s to head to Colombia later this month. The Senior Team will depart for Argentina on January 21.

The U-20s will go into action when T&T hosts the Final CONCACAF Round from March 5-15.  Canada, Mexico and the United States will be joined by host T&T and Central American sides Costa Rica and El Salvador. Another winner  from a CFU Group being contested in St Vincent and the Grenadines this month will advance to the finals while the runners up will meet Honduras in a play off for the final spot. The teams in the CONCACAF finals will vie for a spot in the 2009 FIFA Under 20 World Championship in Egypt from September 25-October 16.

Head coach Zoran Vranes was expected to cut the squad to twenty five players on Wednesday inclusive of home-based and US-based players. Clico San Juan Jabloteh defender Robert Primus has joined the team in training and will return following his time with the Senior Team either after the Argentina trip or the World Cup qualifier away to El Salvador.

Under 17 team standout Kevin Molino is also in the squad but US-born winger Aaron Maund has been a no show. Last month Maund expressed a desire to join the T&T team even after being invited by the US U-20 team But according to T&T team manager Chris De Silva, the player’s heart appears to be elsewhere.

“We had been in constant contact before Christmas. His father was in touch with us and they expressed a desire to come to our training camp after the one with the US team. But even after they made requests for us to facilitate his visit, it appeared that he wanted to see what his options were with the US. All communication was cut… there was no response from them so at this point the player is not part of the squad. He needs to be fully committed if he wants to play for Trinidad and Tobago,” De Silva told TTFF Media on Wednesday. Maund appeared for T&T at the 2007 FIFA Under 17 World Championship in South Korea.

“Otherwise coach Vranes and the boys have been hard at work. We will train four days per week from this coming week and then head off on the trip to Brazil,” De Silva added.

Last Saturday the U-20s lost a warm-up match 3-2 to a local eleven comprising some US-based players and locals including Densill Theobald, Brent Sancho, Leslie Fitzpatrick and Cyd Gray.

The U-17s meantime are preparing under the watchful eyes of head coach Anton Corneal. And according to team manager Christopher Gouveia, the squad will be cut from 35 to 28 players next week.

“We’ve been preparing and the next phase will entail some warm up games to step it up a bit,” he said. Gouveia mentioned that striker Jerrel Britto was likely to return to England for a trial at another club after his stint with Portsmouth last year. And fellow squad member Johan Peltier has been invited to attend the Southampton Academy.

“It’s an important phase for us coming up and every effort is being made to ensure that we are best prepared as possible for the tournament,” Corneal told TTFF Media. “We’ve looked at some more players in Tobago and we’ll probably go back there for a training camp with the full team.”

The U-17s will go into the final Concacaf Round of qualification in Mexico in April. Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica Canada, the United States, Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba and Mexico will battle for a chance to feature at the 2009 FIFA Under 17 World Championship in Nigeria from October 24-November 15.

[Trini _2026]

National U-20s and U-17s to step up preparations.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).

The U-17s meantime are preparing under the watchful eyes of head coach Anton Corneal. And according to team manager Christopher Gouveia, the squad will be cut from 35 to 28 players next week.

“We’ve been preparing and the next phase will entail some warm up games to step it up a bit,” he said. Gouveia mentioned that striker Jerrel Britto was likely to return to England for a trial at another club after his stint with Portsmouth last year. And fellow squad member Johan Peltier has been invited to attend the Southampton Academy.

 

[weary1969]

Can we go 3-3 and qualify for all dem WC?

[palos]

Can we go 3-3 and qualify for all dem WC?

With Maturana in charge.....the sky's the limit! 

[weary1969]

Can we go 3-3 and qualify for all dem WC?

With Maturana in charge.....the sky's the limit! 

With Mats we orbitin d moon.

[Trini _2026]

Can we go 3-3 and qualify for all dem WC?

nope not with them underemployed players

[weary1969]

Can we go 3-3 and qualify for all dem WC?

nope not with them underemployed players

U obviously not familiar wit d term underemployment so leh meh help yuh wit d oxford dictionary meaning. oxford.com u must check dem out.

adjective not having sufficient or sufficiently demanding paid work

So d present players eh have no wuk so dey cyah be cryin dey eh have no sufficient paid work. As 4 Maund he gets 2 stay in d US where he from and eh have 2 deal wit JW etal. Dat alone is a plus.

[Trini _2026]

Can we go 3-3 and qualify for all dem WC?

nope not with them underemployed players

U obviously not familiar wit d term underemployment so leh meh help yuh wit d oxford dictionary meaning. oxford.com u must check dem out.

adjective not having sufficient or sufficiently demanding paid work

So d present players eh have no wuk so dey cyah be cryin dey eh have no sufficient paid work. As 4 Maund he gets 2 stay in d US where he from and eh have 2 deal wit JW etal. Dat alone is a plus.

Yeah yeah yeah  change yuh tune yuh get ketch

[weary1969]

I get ketch I eh know we was playin hide and seek.

[Trini _2026]

I get ketch I eh know we was playin hide and seek.

 

[#8]

I am of the opinion that if the powers that be keep the present group of U-20's together they'll be a force(literally and figuratively speaking) to deal with on the concacaf/rest of the world stage in time to come..we(a group comprising of foreign based and local players) played another practice game against the U-20's this past thursday and were SPANKED 5-2  . If the skill,technical ability and VERY physical nature they displayed during thursday's game is and continues to be a regular thing, then as a team they're on the road to successful things.

[ZANDOLIE]

Nice to hear that.  In spite of the criticism of their particapation in the SL (and some of it was valid too) they are more prepared than any other T&T youth team in recent memory.

The key question is how much have they closed the gap in terms of speed of play, aggression and fitness with the teams they played in the last world cup?

[pardners]

Nice to hear that.  In spite of the criticism of their particapation in the SL (and some of it was valid too) they are more prepared than any other T&T youth team in recent memory.

The key question is how much have they closed the gap in terms of speed of play, aggression and fitness with the teams they played in the last world cup?

My sentiments exactly.

[Trini _2026]

Nice to hear that.  In spite of the criticism of their particapation in the SL (and some of it was valid too) they are more prepared than any other T&T youth team in recent memory.

The key question is how much have they closed the gap in terms of speed of play, aggression and fitness with the teams they played in the last world cup?

they came from behind to tie st vincent under 20 team

[ZANDOLIE]

they came from behind to tie st vincent under 20 team

Not sure what that indicates if anything; after being together for 6 months and playing in the SL they should not be tying SVG! Some forum members who saw the team play reported that they were a little on the slow side.

Then again SVG just beat the Haitian U20s that qualifyed for last U17 WC. That is the same Haitian team that dingolay on T&T in the U-17CFU cup final in 2007.

Actually that same SVG leading a CONCACAF qualifying group ahead of JA and Haiti. If SVG beat Jamaica on Tuesday or Wednesday then we will have some indication of the extent of how far the boys have progressed.

[E-man]

USA U-20 coming to T&T for training Jan 18-24. (Maund is on their roster)

They will apparently scrimmage with the T&T U-17's while here.


Rongen Names 19 Players to Travel to Trinidad & Tobago as Preparation for CONCACAF Championship 
USSoccer.com

CHICAGO (Jan. 12, 2009) – U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Thomas Rongen has named 19 players who will travel to Trinidad & Tobago from Jan. 18-24 as part of preparation for the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship in March.

The CONCACAF U-20 Championship will be held in Macoya, Trinidad and Bacolet, Tobago from March 6-15. Rongen’s squad will learn their schedule and opponents for the eight-team event in a draw held on Thursday, Jan. 15 at CONCACAF headquarters in New York City. The U.S. will acclimate to both islands while staying and training in facilities in and around both host cities during their upcoming trip.

A combination of professional, collegiate and youth players will travel to Trinidad on Jan. 18 and scrimmage the T&T Under-17 MNT before moving on to the island of Tobago. The team will continue training in Tobago through Jan. 24.

University of Maryland forward Casey Townsend is fresh off of leading his team to the national championship in 2008, while defender Connor Lade helped St. John’s reach the College Cup Final Four. Perennial powerhouse Indiana University sends a pair of underclassmen to T&T in Richard Balchan and Will Bruin. UNLV’s Danny Cruz will be joining the squad just days after learning his professional fate in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, which will be held on Jan. 15.

Defenders Kyle Davies and Jared Jeffrey are the only European-based players that will be traveling to the Caribbean for the trip. FC Dallas’ pair of consistent call-ups, Brek Shea and Anthony Wallace, round out the professional contingent.

U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (2): Sean Johnson (Lilburn, Ga.; University of Central Florida), Brian Perk (Rancho Santa Margarita; UCLA)
DEFENDERS (6): Kyle Davis (Danville, Calif.; Southampton FC), Connor Lade (Convent Station, N.J.; St. John’s University), Kofi Opare (Niagara Falls, Ontario; St. Catharine’s Concord), Chris Taylor (Edmond, Okla.; University of Tulsa), Anthony Wallace (St. Petersburg, Fla.; FC Dallas), Marcus Watson (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; Los Angeles Galaxy Academy)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Richard Balchan (Carmel, Ind.; Indiana University), Tony Cascio (Gilbert, Ariz.; University of Connecticut), Danny Cruz (Glendale, Ariz.; UNLV), Dilly Duka (Montville, N.J.; Rutgers University), Jared Jeffrey (Richardson, Texas; Club Brugge), Aaron Maund (Dorchester, Mass.; Notre Dame), Brek Shea (College Station, Texas; FC Dallas)
FORWARDS (4): Will Bruin (Carmel, Ind.; Indiana University), Felix Garcia (Laredo, Texas; Laredo Heat), Tony Taylor (Jacksonville, Fla.; Jacksonville University), Casey Townsend (Traverse City, Mich.; University of Maryland)

[Themanfriday]

Trying to rub it our faces

[Trini _2026]

they came from behind to tie st vincent under 20 team

Not sure what that indicates if anything; after being together for 6 months and playing in the SL they should not be tying SVG! Some forum members who saw the team play reported that they were a little on the slow side.

Then again SVG just beat the Haitian U20s that qualifyed for last U17 WC. That is the same Haitian team that dingolay on T&T in the U-17CFU cup final in 2007.

Actually that same SVG leading a CONCACAF qualifying group ahead of JA and Haiti. If SVG beat Jamaica on Tuesday or Wednesday then we will have some indication of the extent of how far the boys have progressed.

reports are st vincent defended for the entire second half to protect the 1 goal lead so don't be fooled

[Babalawo]

USA U-20 coming to T&T for training Jan 18-24. (Maund is on their roster)

They will apparently scrimmage with the T&T U-17's while here.


Rongen Names 19 Players to Travel to Trinidad & Tobago as Preparation for CONCACAF Championship 
USSoccer.com

Aaron Maund (Dorchester, Mass.; Notre Dame),

[ZANDOLIE]

reports are st vincent defended for the entire second half to protect the 1 goal lead so don't be fooled

Don't be fooled by what? I never see SVG so I put forward two perspetives, one that outlines why the draw could be a poor performance and one why it might be encouraging despite the scoreline.