Dedicates Gold Cup to Clyde Leon
National coach Angus Eve has called for total commitment from his players tomorrow when they take on St Kitts and Nevis “Sugar Boyz” in their opening match in Group A of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States.
He said their Gold Cup tournament will be dedicated to former national midfielder Clyde Leon who died in 2021 from a suspected heart attack. Eve at a training session at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale yesterday said Leon was a dedicated player whose life impacted a number of others.
Leon earned 48 caps for his country as a senior after making his international debut against Guyana in an international friendly on March 2, 2004. Now, Eve wants his (Leon’s) most glaring attribute, one of commitment, to be exhibited, as he believes his team has what it takes to come out of the group.
Apart from St Kitts and Nevis, the Soca Warriors will also face regional rival Jamaica on Wednesday at Citypark and then the USA in their final group match on July 2 at the Bank of America Stadium.
Eve said so far he is impressed with the level of commitment shown so far.
“This team (St Kitts and Nevis) has won the group that we were in for the World Cup where we played, so in effect, they knocked us out of the World Cup, so we have been building or rebuilding the house as I would say.
“So we’re asking the ‘fellas’ for the commitment, and these guys have really shown their commitment so far. I am extremely happy with the attitude in the camp, so going out there, we want to be committed to everything that we do. We want to represent our country right. We actually want to come out of this group, and we believe that we can from a tactical standpoint and from the individual players that we have on the squad. And we believe we have a good chance to do so,” Eve explained.
Due to the humidity of conditions there, the Soca Warriors worked out for a short time yesterday, sharp-tuning on the offensive part of their game.
“We’ve been working on the offensive side of the game, how we want to attack the game from free kicks and corners offensively, and how the team defends, and how we break down what they are doing in defence. So that was the day-to-day,” Eve noted.
Eve’s men have earned little success over their Jamaican counterparts in recent times. In March, they defeated the Reggae Boyz 1-0 in the first of two international friendly matches in Kingston, before the team played to a goalless draw in the other three days later.
Meanwhile, newcomers Luke Singh, the Atletico Ottawa defender, and Malcolm Shaw have said they are eager to play for the team and contribute positively to the result of the team.
“It’s always an honour to play for your country. I’m excited and just can’t wait to get started. My first training was good,” Singh said.
Shaw, the Atletico Ottawa striker, on the other hand, said: “It’s a special moment for me. It’s my first time being in an international environment, so obviously, I am coming here to make an impact and help the team. We came here to win so we want to contribute in different ways.”
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Angus Eve: 'Good chance' to reach Gold Cup KO stage.
By Jelani Beckles (T&T Newsday).
SOCA Warriors head coach Angus Eve likes his team’s chances at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup as he believes they have the ability to advance past the group stage.
The Soca Warriors will play St Kitts/Nevis in their opening Group A match of the Gold Cup on Sunday at the DRV PNK Stadium in Ft Lauderdale, US, at 3.30 pm.
T&T will face Jamaica on Wednesday at 7.30 pm, followed by the US on July 2 at 7 pm.
The Gold Cup will be hosted by US and Canada from Saturday to July 16.
Eve, speaking to TT Football Association media, said, “These guys have really shown their commitment. Extremely happy with the attitude in the camp and going out there we want to be committed in everything that we do. We want to represent our country right and we actually want to come out of this group. We believe we can. From a tactical standpoint and the individuals that we have on the squad, we believe that we have a good chance to do so.”
The US, despite fielding a second-string team, are expected to be a handful for T&T, as the Americans are 13th in the FIFA world rankings.
There are nine players 22 years old or younger in the 23-man US squad as many of their top players just competed in the Concacaf Nations League final and are being rested.
The majority of the players on the Jamaica team, ranked 63rd in the world, are foreign-based, including the likes of Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey and West Ham's Michail Antonio.
T&T are ranked 104th and St Kitts/Nevis are the lowest-ranked team in Group A at 139th in the world.
Eve said T&T have been studying their opponents. “The approach obviously is to look at the tapes of the opposition. We know how they try to play; some teams try to tweak some stuff but coaches have that tendency, even if they change the personnel on the park, they play similar to how their philosophy is.”
Eve, said T&T are dedicating their performances to former national footballer Clyde Leon who died two years ago at age 37.
“Give everything, give everything that you have for your country,” Eve said. “We are dedicating this to Clyde Leon. We watched a film on Clyde Leon the other day that we showed and the commitment that he had (was admirable). He has impacted a number of the guys here because he would have played with them, coached some of the (junior) elite players like Molik Khan who came through that programme…It was very heartfelt when we looked at how short his career was.”