Former National Under-20 Captain Shannon Gomez wants his juniors now seeking to represent Trinidad and Tobago in upcoming Under-20 World Cup qualification that they must stay focused on the task at hand and prepare themselves for a long road ahead.
The 19-year-old, on a one-year loan deal from DirecTV W Connection, captained the T&T Under-20 team to the Caribbean title in 2014.
“I would like to urge the players on the current Under 20 team to dream big and aim for the stars. They have a huge opportunity ahead of them.
“The Under-20 stage was the first big opportunity for me on the international stage like it was for many other players like Dwight Yorke and Kevin Molino. And we took it seriously. But the players there now have to have big ambitions.
“They can’t feel comfortable with just making the final team.
“I think they have good potential and they must go onto retain the Caribbean title and then go on and qualify for the Under-20 World Cup,” Gomez said.
Gomez is working tirelessly as he awaits his debut for New York.
“Working towards my debut is an anxious feeling because I know that while putting in all the necessary work that will help me to be ready for when the opportunity presents itself, I have to remain focused and continue working hard to make sure that I capitalise and get a good grasp of the opportunity,” he said.
Gomez made his T&T senior team debut against Panama last year March but he is yet to get called to the current Senior World Cup team. And he isn’t worried as timing is everything for him.
“I think the currently the senior team is in a very good run of form. Once we keep focused on achieving the goal on qualifying for the World Cup, I know we can go all the way.
“I will continue to work hard to play regularly with the national team. Whenever I'm called up, I will make the most of it,” he added.