T&T get ready for real World Cup action.
By: Shaun Fuentes.[/size]
This country is already fancying its chances of advancing out of Group B following Friday's Gala Draw for the 2006 World Cup in Messi, Leipzig.
Following the announcement of an opening match against Sweden along with matches against England and Paraguay, the T&T faithful started to look ahead at bigger things to come.
The clash with England will see David Beckham's team face a squad in which nearly half the players currently earn their living in England.
Trinidad and Tobago defender Dennis Lawrence, who plays for League Two side Wrexham (the fourth tier of English football), voiced his delight at the draw.
"I can imagine how the fans are feeling because I am so excited about it myself," he said. "It was brilliant looking at our name come out in the same group as England."
Port Vale midfielder Chris Birchall, another Trinidad and Tobago star, claimed the prospect of playing England in the World Cup finals was like "living a dream".
He said: "People were saying 'It's fate, you're going to get England'. When it happened I was just running around, cheering in the bar. It hasn't sunk in.
"I will be lining up against players who I have been watching week in, week out in the Premiership.
"I don't think anyone knew about us before... but we have caused a few upsets. People are taking us seriously."
Pretty much the article says Erikksson think of us as lightweights at the moment, all he knows is that a lot of our players play in England.
I don't think this will have a negative effect on our players physically, ah mean in the teams where our players are in - Port Vale, Wrexham, Luton Town, Southampton... none of their teammates will be in the England squad, and if anything, will support de Warriors. Maybe ah being too naive, ah dunno.
Ah think this might be a growing issue as time passes....too early to tell. We have to keep up to date with our UK-based players to see if they getting playing time and de coaches treating dem right. Sven-Goran Eriksson breathed a huge sigh of relief after the World Cup draw handed England a relatively easy first round group and spared his squad the prospect of facing either the Netherlands or traditional sporting adversaries Australia.
"It is not an easy group but it could have been much worse," England's Swedish coach said after his squad were drawn in a group with Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Eriksson's native country, Sweden.
"We asked to avoid Holland and Australia and we did that," Eriksson told the BBC.
"Of course we have to play Sweden, whom we have not beaten for a very long time -- that seems to be our destiny. But that is life, sooner or later we have to beat them.
"At least on paper we are the favourites with Sweden but you never know in the World Cup."
The draw means England, presuming they finish in the top two in their group, are likely to face either Germany or Poland in the second round.
Eriksson was confident England could win the group and avoid a last-16 clash with Germany.
"I think Germany will win their group, I think they are in an easy group for the host nation," he said. "For sure it is better to play Poland than Germany in the second round."
The draw means it is possible England could face Brazil in the final but Eriksson did not want to speculate on that sort of outcome.
"I would take that at once to play Brazil in the final but the way is long and it is not right to talk about the final. Now we have to prepare for our group matches.
"We have difficult games but I am happy with the group. It could have been worse, much worse."
One of Eriksson's predecessors, Graham Taylor, hailed the draw as the best England could possibly have hoped for.
"On paper you can't ask for much better than that," he said. "The England players will come out and say all the same things about every game being a hard one but if we look at it realistically we could not have asked for better."
Beenhakker fancies T&T's draw.
By: Shaun Fuentes.[/size]
"It's fantastic.... I love it"Right away came those words from National coach Leo Beenhakker about T&T's placing in Group B with the likes of England, Paraguay and first World Cup opponents Sweden.
Beenhakker was sitting next to assistant coach Wim Rijsbergen and manager Bruce Aanensen along with the rest of the T&T delegation in row four before the main stage when it was announced that T&T were placed in Group B at the Gala draw in Messe Leipzig.
A few sections to his left, a football lob away was Jack Warner, who instantly looked on with smiles as if to say "Yes, we get it". Interestingly, moments later as he hugged Beenhakker, he added "I told you so, ent I told you so. We shall play England and the others and we shall be the smallest nation with the biggest passion."
Another interesting note was Beenhakker saying on Friday that he wouldn't mind facing Sweden as it would suit his pre-tournament preparations fine in Austria as he could line up Scandanavian-like teams for matches.
"This draw is very good and we must go in there and do what we have to do. We could spoil it for them," Beehakker told TTFF Media. In the middle of this, he was answering questions from all directions, in Dutch, Spanish and of course from the English, the BBCs, the Sky Sports, the Daily Mails and others.
"I like what we got and I have a squad of players who will love it. We have to be professionals like we have been in the qualifying campaign and I have no doubt we can do this well. I love it," Beenhakker added.
He may now consider putting off a proposed England training camp and there is also the possibility that the team will be away for Carnival as FIFA announced that there will be only one FIFA international date before the Finals, on March 1 and T&T could end up in Wales at that time. Warner will confirm this in due course.
Beenhakker and managers Aanensen and George Joseph along with Rijsbergen will visit the match sites from early as 8am on Saturday up until Tuesday before he he returns to Austria to check out another site there.
Rio Ferdinand wary of giant-killers.
By: Teamtalk News.[/size]
Rio Ferdinand has predicted England's World Cup group game against Trinidad and Tobago will bear all the hallmarks of an FA Cup tie. Many of the players likely to line up for the Caribbean World Cup debutants have played club football in England, including former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke.
The pair were never team-mates at Old Trafford, Yorke leaving in July 2002 as Ferdinand arrived that same month. But the involvement of the veteran striker, now at Sydney FC, plus the likes of Port Vale's Chris Birchall, has convinced Ferdinand of what to expect.
The 27-year-old, whose father hails from the Caribbean island of St Lucia, told The Sun: "They'll have a few players from the lower leagues in England playing for them and will want to make a name for themselves.
"It will be like an FA Cup tie against the minnows. They will want our scalp."
With England also due to face Paraguay and Sweden next June in Germany, many supporters are already looking beyond the first-round group stages.
Ferdinand, too, believes England, quarter-finalists last time, are well set up for a good run after last night's draw.
"It's been fair to us and now we have to make it count," he said.
"We desperately want to make up for the disappointments of the past. We all thought we could win the trophy in 2002. It was a bitter disappointment to miss out."
Meanwhile Yorke believes his country are well capable of reaching the knock-out stages.
Now 34, Yorke may be winding down his career, but he dismisses the notion Trinidad and Tobago will be fodder for the rest of Group B.
"We don't plan to go there to be just another team. We can progress," he told the Daily Telegraph.
"We have got seven months to prepare for the finals and we will do that well."
Sven-Goran Eriksson stressed that England could not afford any slip-ups after their dream World Cup draw on Friday evening.
England were drawn against Eriksson's home nation Sweden, Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago in Group B - and the England coach insisted that winning the group will prove crucial to their chances of going on to lift the trophy in Germany next year.
Speaking after the draw in Leipzig, he said: "It's seems like destiny to get Sweden again - sooner or later we have to beat them because it is more than 30 years, 1968 in fact, since England beat them.
"I am happy with the draw but we have to play our best from the very first minute in all three games. If you underestimate anyone then you can be out.
"It's very important to win the group, otherwise if we come second we would probably meet Germany.
"There are some tough-looking teams we could meet in the quarter-finals, but you cannot expect to go to the semi-finals in the World Cup and expect an easy team."
If results go as expected, England would play Poland in the last 16 and then possibly Argentina or Holland in the quarter-finals, and Brazil in the semi-final.
Sweden drew 1-1 with England in the 2002 group stage, and their manager Lars Lagerback believes both teams have improved since the last World Cup.
Lagerback said: "England are better now than when we played them at the last World Cup and they can get even better for next summer.
"They have found a very well-balanced team with some really good individuals, who at the same time play very much for the team as team players, so I think they will be very tough next summer.
"Rooney, Lampard and Terry have come into the team since we last played them, and there's a good balance between the younger and more experienced players - and you can never underestimate a player with the speed and finishing of Michael Owen."
Coaches of Sweden Lars Lagerback, Paraguay's Anibal Ruiz, England's Sven Goran Eriksson and Trinidad & Tobago's Leo Beenhakker (L-R) pose after the 2006 FIFA World Cup final draw in Leipzig, eastern Germany December 9, 2005. England, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden were on Friday drawn in Group B for the World Cup finals in Germany next year. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender.
Coaches of Sweden Lars Lagerback, Paraguay's Anibal Ruiz, England's Sven-Goran Eriksson and Trinidad & Tobago's Leo Beenhakker (L-R) shake hands after the draw for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Leipzig, eastern Germany, December 9, 2005. The four countries has been drawn in Group B for the World Cup finals in Germany. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach.
