Assistant national coach Stuart-Charles Fevrier said he is confident the country's senior footballers will give a good account of themselves when they face Panama in an international friendly encounter tonight from 7:30pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Balmain, Couva, known as the Home of Football.
Cordell Cato who plays for Charlotte Independence in the USL, Belgian based Nicholas Dillon and defender Daneil Cyrus who represents Juticalpa in the Honduran First Division, are the only international players in the team for the encounter.
At a pre-training interview yesterday Fevrier said the game will be used to assess the performances of the local players who will comprise schoolboy Judah Garcia from Shiva Boys Hindu College.
The W Connection coach said emphasis has been placed on goalscoring since the Soca Warriors have been fairly steady in the other aspects of the game. "Goalscoring will always be the most difficult thing in football since it's the most important. We are constantly working on goalscoring with the players everyday. Stern in particular goes through the paces with the guys at least half an hour after every session. He takes the time to work with them and I am sure that sooner or later it will pay dividends," Fevrier said.
He added, "I am confident that the players will rise to the occasion and improve in that area in coming games."
The hard work of the players during training sessions for the past month, has been satisfying for Fevrier and head coach Dennis Lawrence as they prepare to face a full-strength Panama team which got the edge of the United States to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Russia in June.
Fevrier said the Panamanians will provide a strong unit regardless of which players they use. But he assures however his players will be looking forward to the match, come tonight.
Goalkeeper Marvin Phillip, who will be one of the senior players on the team, said it will be a tough encounter as the Panamanians will be coming to prove to their coach that they are deserving of going to the World Cup. On the part of T&T, the Morvant Caledonia United custodian believes that with the Soca Warriors comprising so many young players, it will be a test for them to prove if they can cope at the international level.
Justin Sadoo, Taryk Sampson and Kathon St. Hillaire, all of whom represented the country at the 2017 Concacaf Under-20 Championship in Costa Rica have now joined the senior ranks with him.
Lawrence said with such an enticing line-up of youth and experience it will interesting to see the starting XI on match day, but he pointed out the aim will be clear, “A good team performance, will bring the result. That’s what I am looking for, a good all-round team performance. We have individuals with a lot of talent, even young Judah Garcia has been impressive in training but against an organised opponent like Panama, team is key” Lawrence said.
Gates open at 5:30pm and tickets will be sold at the venue at a cost of $40.00 adults and $20 for children.
T&T SQUAD:
Hashim Arcia, Cordell Cato, Daneil Cyrus, Nicholas Dillon, Adrian Foncette, Maurice Forde, Judah Garcia, Nathaniel Garcia, Rhondel Gibson, Kevon Goddard, Curtis Gonzales, Triston Hodge, Isaiah Hudson, Alvin Jones, Marcus Joseph, Jared London, Andre Marchan, Reon Moore, Jameel Neptune, Marvin Phillip, Akeem Roach, Justin Sadoo, Taryk Sampson, Kathon St Hillaire
