NATIONAL defenders Noah Powder and Mekeil Williams have been cleared by Concacaf to join the men’s senior team in Texas as immediate replacements for skipper Khaleem Hyland and attacking midfielder Judah Garcia, who have been indefinitely ruled out of T&T’s Gold Cup campaign owing to injury.
Williams and Powder, who both reside in the US, were called to national duty on Friday after Hyland and Garcia were confirmed to take no further part in the tournament. The pair was subbed off with leg muscle injuries during T&T’s final Gold Cup qualifier match against French Guiana on Tuesday.
Hyland’s absence for the rest of the tournament sees striker Kevin Molino step up to captain the squad for the remainder of the competition.
T&T begin their Gold Cup group stage campaign on Saturday against defending champions Mexico at the AT&T Stadium, Arlington, from 10.30pm. Also in Group A are El Salvador and Curacao.
“We got the notification that Judah Garcia and Khaleem Hyland would not be available to us anymore and we now have Noah Powder and Mikheil Williams will be replacing them as of today,” said head coach Angus Eve at the pre-match press conference.
On Friday, Eve and his staff worked alongside Concacaf’s medical department to ensure the players were cleared to arrive in Texas before Saturday’s opening match. He said both Powder and Williams have already been vaccinated for covid19 and also conducted their mandatory PCR tests on Friday.
These steps, Eve said, guarantees the players would be able to arrive in time and immediately join the team for the Mexico clash. Against the Concacaf behemoths, Eve is well aware of their many strengths but believes the Soca Warriors can dig deep to eke out a positive result.
“We want to go and express ourselves as much as possible and see if we can get among them and hopefully cause some sort of upset; that’s the only thing that we can do.
“The guys really fought in the qualifiers. We have the same mentality and spirit going into this game. We have to be more creative in the way that we play. We believe our main battle is against El Salvador and Curacao, whatever we do against Mexico will be a bonus,” Eve added. Eve was appointed national coach in June after then-coach Terry Fenwick was sacked for the squad’s first-round exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign.
Prior to the World Cup qualifiers, T&T played two additional matches – Eve’s first at the helm – against Montserrat and French Guiana leading up to the Gold Cup qualification. Although successful, Eve believes their opponents are now equipped with ample video footage of their recent matches to study their style of play.
He added, “We would have to tweak some stuff. These (opposing) teams are well-rested. We will have to tweak things tactically. They would have seen us play a couple of matches. They would have been scouting what we’ve been doing.
Eve continued, “We brought a surplus of defensive players because we may have to tweak the formation. We picked players who could play multiple positions. We had two major injuries in the last game which caused the rhythm of the game to be upset. “Bringing the yellow cards over is a bit unfair. Technically we are the weaker teams who are coming forward. We’re not crying about that.”
He said the senior team was in a “rebuilding stage” and aiming at re-establishing itself as formidable opponents in the region.
The former national player was pleased to be back in the Gold Cup competition and believes the Mexico test will serve as a good measurement to see where the team is currently at competing against a top-ranked team.
According to the FIFA Rankings, Mexico is presently ranked an impressive 11th in the world while T&T is 103rd. At the Concacaf level, Mexico are atop the standings with the USA trailing closely behind while T&T are 11th. Amid the statistics, Eve said they must go into the game with a positive mindset.
He added, “We have the mindset of a lion. If we have that lion mentality that we displayed in our games so far; our spirit, team camaraderie, that willingness to fight for each other is what we’re going to need for this stage.”
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Soca Warriors face champs Mexico in Gold Cup opener.
T&T Guardian Reports.
Interim Soca Warriors coach, former national Angus Eve will be hoping to continue his unbeaten run at the helm of the team when T&T come up against reigning champion Mexico in their Concacaf Gold Cup Group A opener on Saturday night from 10 pm.
However, Eve and his squad who defeated Montserrat 6-1 and then French Guiana 8-7 on sudden-death penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw to reach the group stages will start as underdogs at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Tonight’s match-up will be the fifth Gold Cup meeting between the two sides and if it is anything like their previous Gold Cup encounter, fans can expect plenty of goal-scoring fireworks.
This will also be T&T’s 11th appearance in the Gold Cup group stage and with the momentum, they have picked up from the Prelims, the Soca Warriors will fancy their chances of advancing from the group which also features El Salvador who they meet on July 14, and Curacao, four days later.
Six years ago in the 2015 group stage, the two sides played to a thrilling 4-4 draw and there is enough attacking power on both sides to see a possible repeat.
The current members of the T&T team, who featured in that enthralling contest, were captain Khaleem Hyland, goalkeeper Marvin Phillip and defender Aubrey David while Radanfah Abu Bakr and Adrian Foncette were unused substitutes for former coach Stephen Hart back then.
However, less than 24 hours before kick-off, Eve and his technical staff were still sweating on the fitness of Hyland, Judah Garcia and Triston Hodge, who all picked up muscle injuries in the win over French Guiana on Tuesday at the DRV PNK Stadium in Florida. Late yesterday, it was learned that Hyland and Garcia are the two players that Eve and the TTFA are hoping to have replacements for at the Gold Cup.
The Carenage-born Eve speaking just over 24 hours before he leads the senior national team into battle against Mexico noted his team will be deprived of two key players who picked up injuries in the previous match against French Guiana and they will play no further part in the tournament.
He said, "We suffered two major injuries last game and we have been using going through the procedures with Concacaf to replace these two players because they won't get better to play any of the games to be honest.
But, overall the mood in the camp according to Eve is a very good one with the players having the mindseta of being like lions.
Eve explained, "The lion is not the biggest animal in the jungle but he is the king of the jungle and if we have the lion mentality that we have displayed so far then that ia what is going to be needed in this phase."
Not one to complaint, Eve stated that the format of tournament and having to play the three group matches in almost ten days right on the heels of the two preliminary matches is a difficult task, one he and his staff knew they were getting into when they took the job.
A confident Eve added, "So we have our noses down and pointed in the right direction."
With regards to his team's approach to the Mexico clash Eve said he and his technical staff will definitely have to tweak things tactically a bit.
"These teams in our group would have seen us play a couple matches and they would have been scouting what we would have been doing. So it's going to be even harder now.But we have the same mentality and same spirit as we had before going into these games."
With his focus on securing second spot in the four team group to reach the quarterfinals, Eve said: "We may have to be a little bit more creative in the way that we play against some of the teams because we believe our main battle is against El Salvador and Curacao and whatever we can do against Mexico will be a bonus."
Eve though noted that those teams may also have a slight edge as those teams weren't playing and are well rested as well as not having the worry of taking yellow card cautions into their match like his team has from the preliminary round.
Eve’s start to life as coach of the senior team for which he has been only contracted to August has been nothing short of a breath of fresh air for the players and supporters alike as things have drastically turned around.
In his two matches as coach, Eve, a winger in his playing days which numbered a record 117 caps for the T&T team has the Soca Warriors displaying a cutting edge in attack, evidenced by the seven goals they scored in their two Prelims matches.
T&T have also gotten contributions from many different players up top led by Columbus Crew midfielder Kevin Molino with two goals, as well as Marcus Joseph, Ryan Telfer and Neveal Hackshaw who form a dangerous quartet going forward, and the likes of Reon Moore (two goals) and Andre Fortune bring fresh legs and a nose for a goal off the bench.
At the back, T&T will also feel like they are in good hands in the back with Denmark-based goalkeeper Nicklas Frenderup, who did a superb job in the two Prelims matches, keeping his head during the deciding penalty shootout against French Guiana and making the save that sent his side to the group stage.
Frenderup also benefits from a strong defensive front. Jelani Peters and David are an experienced set of centre backs to keep Frenderup protected, while fullbacks Alvin Jones and Ross Russell Jr make sure there are no breaches on the wings.
Mexico, meanwhile, comes into the T&T match on the back of a resounding 4-0 bashing of Nigeria in a friendly international last weekend in Los Angeles in their final warm-up encounter.
El Tricolor coached by former Barcelona FC boss, Argentine Gerardo Martin boasts a lot of star power, led by forward Hirving Lozano of Italy’s Napoli, who has 14 goals in 47 matches with Mexico. AT&T Stadium is also friendly territory for Lozano who scored two goals in his last match in Arlington in a 2-1 friendly win versus Iceland on May 29.
Another striker to watch will be former Argentina Under-20 player Rogelio Funes Mori, who made his Mexico debut last Saturday in the Nigeria encounter and scored just four minutes into the match.
Not to be overlooked is winger Uriel Antuna of Guadalajara, who scored four goals for Mexico in the 2019 Gold Cup, including a hat trick in a 7-0 win over Cuba.
One this is for certain is that both T&T and Mexico are not known to shy away from the big moment which will make for an entertaining affair.
In the other Pool A match today, familiar foes El Salvador and Curacao will open Gold Cup with the first match in Group A at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas from 5 pm.
It marks the third Gold Cup meeting between the two sides, with Curacao having faced the Cuscatlecos in each of their previous two Gold Cup appearances.
In 2017, El Salvador pocketed a 2-0 win in Denver, Colorado, while two years later the Central Americans opened their group with a 1-0 triumph against the Caribbean side in Kingston, Jamaica.
Under the guidance of assistant coach and European football legend Patrick Kluivert, Curacao will be hoping that the third time is a charm.
They certainly have the talent to earn the three points, with the likes of veteran Leandro Bacuna, who is one of two players to have scored in a Gold Cup for Curacao, and experienced Eloy Room, who has been in goal for all seven of Curacao’s previous Gold Cup matches.
Also aiding the cause will be forward Jarchinio Antonio, who arrives into the tournament in good form after amassing three assists during Concacaf World Cup Qualifying for Qatar 2022.
El Salvador, now in its 15th Gold Cup and led by Head Coach and former USA international Hugo Perez, will also be feeling confident after having qualified for the Final Round of CWCQ.
Forward David Rugamas scored eight goals in El Salvador’s six matches in CWCQ, while fellow striker Joshua Perez chipped in with three goals.
A winning start for either side would go a long way toward punching a ticket to the knockout round.