 National Team Head Coach Francisco Maturana will have another chance to assess what some of his new call ups have to offer in Tuesday’s friendly international against Guyana at the Marvin Lee Stadium from 7:30pm.
There will be an opening match of the double header with the T&T Women’s National Under 17 team taking on the National Under 20 Women’s Team from 5:30pm. The Under 17s are preparing for the CONCACAF Final round of qualification which begins in T&T from July 17.
Click for video of T&T training session.
The Colombian-born
coach will have at his disposal new face since his appointment,
including Puerto Rico Islanders forward Kendall Jagdeosingh as well as
Kerry Noray and W Connection’s Clyde Leon. Those players all have
previous international experience but North East Stars defender Akil
Guevera could make his debut on Tuesday while striker Cornell Glen and
Anthony Wolfe will be hoping to make an impression upon their recalls.
The rest of the squad includes recent regulars - Khaleem Hyland, Keon
Daniel, Anton Pierre, Keyeno Thomas, Aklie Edwards, Makan Hislop, Kevon
Carter, Jerol Forbes, Stephan David, Kern Cupid, Kareem Smith and Akeem
Adams. Atulla Guerra should also get a chance in the middle.
Under 20 goalie Glenroy Samuel is the back up to Marvin Phillip.
Wolfe, one of the members of the 2006 World Cup Squad, said he is
expecting a win for the hosts but more importantly is seeing the
encounter as an opportunity for players like himself to try and
maintain their selection for the more important World Cup qualifying
matches. Both Wolfe and Cornell Glen are two of the recalls who were
involved at the 2006 World Cup
“First of all it’s a good opportunity for players like myself to be
back in the team and have a chance to play again,” Wolfe told TTFF
Media. “The coach is continuing his method of giving players a chance
to show what they can do and it’s up to us now to make good of this. We
have to grab it and show that we can make a valuable contribution by
helping the team gain impressive results.”
England-bound 19-year-old midfielder Khaleem Hyland, who played in both
of the recent qualifying matches at home and away to Bermuda, wants to
see more urgency coming from the T&T team.
“I think we need to take our approach with more urgency because this is
our preparation for some of the more high intensity matches that we
will have to go into in the next round. A lot of things have been said
about our performances against Bermuda and personally I felt it would
have been good to come away with a bigger victory but that wasn’t the
case,” Hyland said.
“But I think we are working hard towards boosting our game and (for)
games like this one against Guyana… hopefully we can look better and
come away with a result we are satisfied with. We expect to also get a
good contest from Guyana,” Hyland added.
Carter adjusting to Maturana’s approach
Defence Force’s Kevon Carter says he’s still adjusting to the new role
being asked of him by national head coach Francisco Maturana and he
will be seeking to show some kind of progress when Trinidad and Tobago
faces Guyana
The 24-year-old has one goal, scored against Grenada, in five
internationals to date and first made an impression on the
international stage when he notched a hattrick in his debut for the
National Under 23 team in a 4-3 loss to Costa Rica in a friendly at
the Marvin Lee Stadium in October 2003.
“I’ve been thankful for this opportunity and the experience has been a
learning one since I came onto this current national team,” Carter told
TTFF Media on Saturday.
“For me personally it’s been a really good chance to train and play
with players like Carlos Edwards and Stern John and the others who have
made it a good way playing for the country on the international stage.
I hope to take a lot from this experience and use it to push myself
forward for the future.”
But Carter admitted that he hasn’t fulfilled expectations since his hattrick performance against the Costa Ricans.
“I thought I would be further than where I am right now but things
haven’t gone that way. I just hope to use the opportunity to try and
maybe get a chance with a club in an overseas league so I can develop
my game some more.” He hopes to follow in the success of former Defence
Force striker Jason Scotland who has topped goalscoring charts with St
Johnstone in Scotland and last season with Swansea City in the English
League Two.
“Players like Jason, Carlos and Dennis Lawrence are an inspiration to me, especially as they also came out of Defence Force.”
As a home-based player in the current set up, Carter emphasized his
liking for Maturana’s South American influence in the team’s play.
“It’s been good especially as he’s from a South American country so
he’s bringing that different style to our game and personally I am
enjoying this but it will take a lot of work and better understanding
for us to get it right. I am accustomed playing a striker’s role but
now I’m working on adjusting to the outside midfield position. I think
I can up it a notch and keep on improving and be able to add something
to the team for the matches that we have coming up… especially for the
World Cup qualifiers,” Carter added.
|
