Now that the euphoria of the Beijing Olympics has subsided, the eyes of the sports fans will be focused once more on the path of the Soca Warriors towards the target of reaching the World Cup Finals in South Africa.
Victory over Cuba in Havana was essential to the character building of the players, who would by now realise that playing on the road is usually a very difficult task.
Having said that, I am also aware that our players tend to produce more effort and commitment while on the road, maybe because of the spontaneous reaction of our people to become critical of mistakes during a match and moreso, the media, whose comments are based upon personnel and not necessarily the analysis of the match itself.
This factor seems to have taken its toll on coach Francisco “Pacho” Maturana in an indirect way, especially in the selection process.
The concept of retaining a winning team is often seen as the norm for many coaches and in more ways than one, reflect the confidence which is placed upon the efforts of the players.
There are differing views, whereby other coaches often consider the changing of their strategy in order to continue to get the right results. This would depend on their opponents, the conditions under which they have to play and also the exposure of new players to the squad for the purpose of future matches.
As we approach the match against Guatemala, coach Pacho’s main will now be focused upon two factors, the first of which will be the fact that the Central Americans will be adamant in getting at least one point on the road in order to remain in the race for one of the top two spots.
Will they come with an open attacking policy from the start in order to try for an early initiative, or will they retreat into their own half of the field and test the creativity and aggression of the Soca warriors before their home crowd?
No doubt, team structure will have to be an important task, especially as we have a red carded player in Khaleem Hyland, a first yellow card for Avery John and injury to Chris Birchall.
This seemingly has opened the door for names like Dwight Yorke, who is enjoying the superstardom of being able to just mention his availability and he is on the sheet.
Clearly, his successful career will have generated this scenario, and the fact that he has not been playing much, shall leave everyone speculative about his form.
Admittedly, on this occasion, the absence of good leadership will work heavily in his favour, plus his experience in the midfield, features which were not easily recognised in the preliminary matches.
The eyes of the technical staff seemed very open, when it came to observing players who were playing abroad and getting some level of success. Jason Scotland has had a good start to the English Championship season and with the huge media hype, gained him entry to the squad.
On the other hand, it must be some sort of selection strategy that may have kept Darryl Roberts out of the squad. My recollection of his last two performances will normally have made him a key player in my mind, but, not having seen the preparation from the coach’s point of view, its better to be guided by his judgement. The selection of Julius James has been long in coming, and maybe through his own fault, this talented defender may have been on the sheet earlier than the present.
Having seen him play two matches in the MLS at central defence, and knowing what is available in these positions, James could earn a permanent place in the team.
As we seek to move on in the qualifying series, we must not ignore the results of the last two encounters on the road against El Salvador and Cuba. Its not only about the results, but the resilience and determination demonstrated by the players and the desire to win the battle in the enemy’s backyard against countries like the USA, whose main strength supercedes all others when it comes to immense focus, aggression and the zeal to win.
With a possible match against Peru this week, and Guatemala happening on Saturday, the results must be earned by high intensity, absolute focus and total commitment to team play.
There are players who already have these ingredients in their repertoire. I could think of names like Cyd Gray, Keyeno Thomas, Carlos Edwards, Aurtis Whitley, Hyland, Clyde Leon, Osei Telesford, Cornell Glen and Roberts.
Avery John will be normally included in that pack, but his inability to avoid yellow cards may be his greatest enemy.
If the coach decides to include Yorke, he will need to have an intense group of ball winners, whether they are defenders, midfielders or forwards.
In this way, Yorke will be able to use his choice passes to open penetration lanes and also to move into the attacking third, where he has gained world recognition through his craft in that area.
It is my belief that the selection process for choosing teams to play against Guatemala will differ from the selection against the USA, four days later.
We may get away with moments of complacency against Guatemala, but not the USA. This is a key point and one which could break the ice and enter winner’s row against the “Yanks”.
Maybe that is still one week away.
Let us pay attention to what is immediate before second guessing any decisions which may come by later on.