United States-based striker Cornell Glen has a lot on his mind ahead of the next Wednesday’s crucial 2010 World Cup qualifier against El Salvador at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Not only is Glen eager to score his first international goal for head coach Russell Latapy and prove that his double in a 3-1 win over the Central Americans in Washington last year was no fluke, but he says there are some bragging rights up for grabs as he’s likely to line up against two of his San Jose Earthquakes teammates.
El Salvador are likely to include US-born midfielder Arturo Alvarez in their team for Wednesday’s encounter while Glen has warned that Ramon Sanchez could pose some problems for the “Soca Warriors.”
“There’s going to be a lot of the bragging rights in the dressing room back at San Jose after the game. Those guys are confident that they can beat us at home so we need to show them that there’s no way they will make us look bad in our backyard,” Glen told TTFF Media on Wednesday.
Glen netted a double in the 3-1 win under Francisco Maturana but despite being the country’s topscorer on the Argentina warm up tour, Glen was left out of the starting team by Maturana in the 2-2 draw in San Salvador in February, coming on late in the second half before the home team grabbed a dramatic injury time equalizer.
“My confidence is good at the moment and my form is getting back to where I want it to be. I’m confident that I can have some kind of impact once given the opportunity.
“This is a very important game not just for us as players and bragging rights but we need to send a message to the rest of the teams in the group. The people of Trinidad and Tobago and all the other teams must know that we are not done and out as yet,” added Glen who is likely to be in the squad for Wednesday’s match.
Commenting on Alvarez and his possible threat to T&T, Glen said: “He (Alvarez) is a very good player on the ball. He’s quick, strong and a very good dribbler with very a dead left foot. Ramon Sanchez is also a good passer of the ball.”
Both Alvarez and Sanchez are expected to join the rest of the El Salvador team which has been involved in a training camp in Houston over the last couple days.
“The exercises were light, more focused in the tactical part than the physical, with some play of attack against defense.
Later, the forwards did various shots to the goal,” was how the El Diario de Hoy summed up Tuesday’s training session by the El Salvador team. El Salvador will face Colombia in a friendly at the Robertson Stadium, Houston on Friday night.