National Under 17 footballer Brent Sam never thought he would get even a hattrick on his debut for this country as they kicked off their 2013 FIFA Under 17 World Cup qualifying bid against British Virgin Islands on Tuesday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Well as it turned out, he struck seven goals in T&T’s 23-0 battering of the visitors. He could easily have finished with double figures.
The Police FC player who hails from Bourg Mulatresse simply wanted three points on the night. Prior to kick off he was not even mentioned as one of the players to look out for. Head coach Shawn Cooper didn’t reveal too much about the individual in the pre-game build up.
“I saw his ability to finish in a very cool manner and I said there’s something about this boy we need to make better use of. He actually started off in the left back position and then we made the switch. Well it certainly paid off tonight,” Cooper said after the victory.
Sam himself didn’t foresee such a showing on his debut for T&T in front of an appreciative audience.
“I didn’t expect to score seven goals. I think all I wanted was for the team to win the first game. I was a bit nervous but once the game got going, I settled down and we realized we could beat this team. We just went for it and the goals kept coming,” Sam said.
“Scoring seven feels good but now we have to focus on Suriname and Guyana. We have to work harder in those games and move on to the next round. I want to play in a World Cup some day and this is my first opportunity so I want to make it count,”he added.
Sam, nephew of ex-national forward Hector Sam, has his favourites and hopes one day to play at the highest level in England.
“I like Cristiano Ronaldo. He is quick and he can finish. And my favourite team in Manchester United. I hope I can keep scoring goals and make it into the senior team and hopefully one day get to play in England.”
T&T faces Suriname in their second match on Thursday from 7pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.