Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under 20 footballers will step up their preparations for the upcoming Concacaf final round of qualifiers for the 2011 FIFA Under 20 World Cup with training camps in Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.
A 22-man squad under head coach Zoran Vranes will depart for Cali, Colombia on March 5 and will play five training matches until March 22 before heading over to Panama and Costa Rica to play matches against those country’s Under 20 teams.
Vranes will announce his final traveling squad on Wednesday night following a training match against Defence Force at the Larry Gomes Stadium.
The TTFF, in spite of financial challenges, has pull out the stops to ensure the adequate funding is in place for the team’s preparations as it seeks a second consecutive qualification for the FIFA Youth World Cup after appearing at the 2009 Finals in Egypt.
“It’s very important for us to have these training camps before we head to Guatemala,” Vranes told TTFF Media.
“We have the ability to qualify but we cannot take our preparations for granted and as such I am thankful that every effort is being made by the TTFF and Mr Warner to ensure the boys get a fair amount of preparations before the tournament.
We are lacking a bit in terms of international experience and these games are crucial and will benefit us a whole lot in this way,” Vranes added. T&T faces Cuba in its opening match on March 30 and face Mexico on April 1 in Guatemala City.
Defending champion Costa Rica will begin play March 30 against Guadeloupe preceding the T&T/Cuba encounter. Crossover quarterfinals will be start April 5, with the winner of Group C facing the runner-up from Group D and vice versa.
Likewise, the winners of Groups A and B will play their counterpart runners-up the following day.
The semifinals are scheduled for April 8 with the championship and third-place game two days later. The quarterfinals will decide CONCACAF's berths for the Under-20 World Cup, with the four winners qualifying for the July 29-August 20 event in Colombia.
Groups
Group A: Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica
Group B: United States, Panama, Suriname
Group C: Canada, Costa Rica, Guadeloupe
Group D: Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba