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Fri, Mar

T&T player tested positive before Guyana showdown.
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It will be a showdown in Santo Domingo on Thursday night at, 7 pm T&T's Soca Warriors will be up against Guyana at the Pan American Stadium in San Cristobal.

However, there appears to be some level of uncertainty about if the match will be played or not, after a T&T player tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) after PCR testing was done on all members of the team contingent on Wednesday.

According to the TTFA release: "The individual tested positive and was immediately isolated at the team’s hotel. All Covid-19 protocols are being followed and he is presently awaiting a re-test for confirmation purposes."

Guardian Media Sports was informed on Wednesday that the player will be re-tested on Thursday and if the test comes back positive a decision will have to be made.

The release continued: "Strict contact tracing was then performed and all primary contacts have been quarantined, they would then be tested accordingly following the player's re-test results. The player is asymptomatic at this time. The TTFA also respects the confidentiality wishes of the player."

In the meanwhile and staying match focused, T&T has now dismissed the torture of a loss of home advantage as the game was expected to be T&T's home game, and the players are now singing, in one chorus, the need to get maximum points from the contest.

Coach Terry Fenwick will not be at full-strength but will be more than 75 per cent ready, with most of his overseas-based professionals back, namely Levi Garcia (AEK Athens), midfielder Sheldon Bateau (Mechelen), Aubrey David (Deportivo Saprissa), Khaleem Hyland (Al Batin), Daniel Phillips (Watford), Nicklas Frenderup (Stjørdals-Blink- Norway), Radanfah Abu Bakr (Churchill Brothers- India), and Robert Primus who also plays in India.

They will all join forces with an equally determined bunch of local players that will be led by talented midfielder Duane Muckette.

On Wednesday, both Hyland and Garcia told the media that the game will be a tough one, but they believe the team will come away winners. According to Hyland: "It will be a difficult game. It;'s the first game of the World Cup qualifiers. Guyana is a tough team from the last Gold Cup game. I did not play that game but from watching from the stands, they have a lot of players in the lower teams in Europe. And they're a team that's trying to be at the level as T&T, so we know we have a tough clash."

The Guyanese held T&T to a 1-1 tie in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2019 in the United States, and have since recruited Brazilian coach Marcio Maximo for the qualifiers.

The defensive midfielder admits the challenging times being posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but said, football is now taking place with the pandemic so they have to focus on the task ahead, saying "Tomorrow is a very important game for us. We need to do our jobs and let God do the rest."

Meanwhile, Garcia who has just returned from an injury is eager to deliver. "I am really excited, it has been a while, so I really want to deliver, and most importantly, try to get as many victories as possible. We all know that there is no easy game and as a team, we're trying to gel together, deliver what the coach is trying to implement, and hopefully, we can get together tomorrow and get a victory."

Today's opening match will be followed by another three days later against Puerto Rico on March 28. T&T is playing out of Group F alongside the Puerto Ricans, the Guyanese, Bahamas and St Kitts/Nevis, with only the winning team advancing to the second round of the qualifiers.

Watch Levi has eyes set on three points in opening WCQ