U-23

The Trinidad and Tobago Women’s National Senior Team’s threatened boycott of the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, due to a match fees row, hogged the sport media spotlight for the past two days.

Ricardo John, a rising sophomore on the Virginia Tech men’s soccer team, recently wrapped up summer competition with the Trinidad and Tobago U-23 National Team. In the team’s last match, John scored a pair of goals in a 5-0 win over the host Puerto Ricans.

The trio of US-based players Ricardo John, Aaron Enil and Dwane Muckette were drafted into the T&T men’s football team for the Pan American Games which takes place in Toronto, Canada later this month.

Trinidad and Tobago National Under-23 Team manager David Muhammad has arguably run out of hiding space for a series of administrative cock-ups that might have cost his players their 2016 Olympic Games dreams and now threaten their 2015 Pan American Games aspirations as well.

Head Coach Zoran Vranes and his players had something to finally smile about as they pulled off a moral boosting 5-0 victory over hosts Puerto Rico in their final Caribbean Football Union Olympic Qualifier at the Juan Ramon Louriel Stadium, Bayamon on Monday night.

After just one match, Trinidad and Tobago knows it is not going to the Olympics. One match! The Soca Warriors didn’t even get close enough to really dream of a trip to Rio, but the more worrying part is what this qualification means for their future.

It wasn’t the outcome the Trinidad & Tobago U-23 National Team had hoped for heading into Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Olympic qualifying. But one of the few bright spots for T&T’s U-23 side during the tournament was the play of T2 forward Rundell Winchester.

Trinidad and Tobago's Olympic Men's team lost 5-3 to St Vincent/Grenadines in their opening 2016 Olympic Qualifier in Puerto Rico.