Three and three for U20s
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under 20 footballers completed their training camp in Cali, Colombia with a total of three victories and three losses in six encounters as they lost their final warm up 2-1 to the senior pro team of Deportivo Cali on Sunday.
The Zoran-Vranes coached team will now depart for Honduras on Tuesday to play two friendly matches before jetting over to Guatemala City to contest the Concacaf final round of qualifiers for the 2011 FIFA Under 20 World Cup.
Sunday’s game proved to be one of the tougher ones for the T&T team but welcomed by Vranes as he pays specific attention to some areas in his team’s overall game ahead of the March 30 opener against Cuba.
T&T were trailing 2-0 before US-based player Isiah Ferguson, one of the members who was part of the T&T Under 17 team in 2007, found the net to leave the scoreline at 2-1. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful football teams in Colombia (South America) winning eight national championships (1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1996, 1998, and 2005) since 1948.
Vranes later said Sunday’s result was not a matter of concern but he intends to have his team going into the tournament with a winner’s mentality.
“Okay we lost the last game but I am not really disappointed. I am looking at some areas and the game was significant for us because we played their senior team and they were a strong challenge for us,” Vranes told TTFF Media.
“Generally I am satisfied with this training camp. We were able to live together and strengthen the bond among everyone which is important for us a team heading into Guatemala. This tournament will not be easy and so far our journey has been nothing of relaxation or a holiday. We have been away from home for some weeks and the players have all been putting in a lot of work because there is a strong desire to go to another World Cup. I am excited for them and looking forward to see how they will present themselves in the tournament,” Vranes added.
“This is a great chance for us to qualify for a second straight Under 20 World Cup and a wonderful opportunity for our players to get that experience at this level before they go on to the senior team. We have a good amount of experience with player like Sheldon (Bateau, team captain) and Marcus Joseph who also played in the last World Cup in Egypt and of course some of the other players in the team,” he continued.
The team, minus four players who will be cut from the final squad, will depart for Honduras on Tuesday for a couple more warm-up matches.
