Trinidad and Tobago’s Men Beach Soccer team is currently in Paraguay for a two-week residential training camp ahead of the 2021 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship in Costa Rica.
A 17-man squad arrived in Asuncion on Saturday and is based at the Olympic Hotel. The team under head coach Ramiro Amarelle played its first training match against the Paraguay Beach Soccer national team on Tuesday, going down 7-2 to the hosts at the Estadio Mundialista Los Pynandi, the venue for the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
T&T's goals were scored by Omni Baird and Dominic McDougall. The hosts had items from Carlos Valentín Benítez (3), Carlos Carballo (2), Sergio González and Yoao Rolón. Amarelle described the first encounter as challenging but valuable to the team’s preparations.
“The first match was good for us in terms of experience. It was a first international game for some of our younger players who never played at this level before,” Amarelle told TTFA Media.
“Obviously Paraguay has a higher level than us which is okay because these are the teams we want to play and it helps immensely in getting our team to be prepared for the harder challenges. They were a World Cup host and some of their players have the experience of playing in a World Cup. The gap is not too big but obviously they have more quality and are better at making decisions and executing. We are working on these aspects of our game.
“We made some mistakes which we will work on in training and continue growing and improving on our performances in the next five matches here in Paraguay,” Amarelle added.
Both teams will meet again on Thursday followed by further matches against the Paraguay National Team on May 8th, 10th, 11th and 13th.
Prior to the start of the camp, Amarelle said the period in the South American country would go a long way in preparing T&T for the upcoming Concacaf Championship which they begin against Costa Rica on May 17th in Alajuela.
“This is a great opportunity for us to be in a camp situation in foreign territory before the competition. There are a lot of aspects of a training camp that are needed and it is good that we will get to experience the environment of a venue that hosted the 2019 World Cup. It’s a big opportunity for the players,” said Amarelle, who was joined in Paraguay by fellow Assistant Coach Jaime Paz of Spain.
“The games are also very important for us as it gives us a chance to measure ourselves against an international opponent and to play these games before the competition is absolutely necessary and will boost our preparations. To everyone who played a part in getting this training camp arranged we say a huge thank you,” he added.
The TTFA wishes to acknowledge the role played by the Beach Soccer Association of Trinidad and Tobago (BSATT) in securing the training camp in Paraguay with related expenses for travel and accommodation handled by BSATT. The BSATT must also be credited for providing resources to ensure that coach Amarelle and his staff were well taken care of while in Trinidad.
The 2021 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship will be the ninth edition.of the tournament will take place at the Sports Complex Fedefutbol-Plycem in Costa Rica between 17–23 May 2021.
The championship also acts as the qualification tournament for CONCACAF teams to the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Russia with the top two teams qualifying.
T&T opens against Costa Rica on May 17, then take on United States on May 18th and Turks and Caicos Islands a day later.
Teams
Trinidad and Tobago (2): Jabari Gray; Shallun Bobb, Omri Baird, Shane Hospedales Dominic Mc Dougall. : Ryan Augustine, Jesse Bailey, Zane Coker, Levi Fernández, Immanuel Russell, Joash Baird y Tevin Gill
Head Coach: Ramiro Amarelle. Assistant: Jaime Paz
Paraguay (7): Yoao Rolón; Gustavo Benítez, Carlos Carballo (C); Carlos Valentín Benítez, Gustavo Benítez y Sergio González. Saúl González, Sixto Cantero, Luis Ojeda, Pedro Moran, Milciades Medina, Rodrigo Escobar, Pablo Benítez y Néstor Medina
Head Coach: Gustavo Zloccowik Assistant: Joaquín Molas