A Trinidad and Tobago provisional Under 20 men’s team will continue its preparations for the upcoming Caribbean Football Union Under 20 World qualifying matches with a warm up fixture against Joe Public at the Marvin Lee Stadium from 5pm tomorrow (Thursday).
The squad, currently under the helm of Michael McComie, has played three games so far, winning two against Valtrin United and a T&T U-17 team and losing to Joe Public’s Super League outfit.
Currently the squad is down to 25 players after initial screening sessions commenced last month. McComie and his staff which includes Anthony Rougier, Clint Marcelle and Ross Russell, will be trimmed to 22 players next week during which time there will be an eight day break in training to accommodate players undergoing college exams.
At least four North American-based college players will also join the team in early June to be assessed by the coaching staff. McComie and his assistants will also attend a session in Tobago to look at the thirty players currently training under Bertille St Clair’s watch.
“We are down to 25 players at the moment and we will have a further cut after Thursday’s match against Joe Public.
At this stage the players are responding well to the training and the desire to represent the country and increase their knowledge and readiness for international football is definitely evident among the players we have together now,”McComie told TTFF Media on Wednesday.
Some of the players in the squad now include ex-Under 17 captain Duane Muckette, Shackiel Henry, Xavier Rajpaul, Quesi Weston, Damani Richards and Marcus Gomez.
“There is a fair amount of interest from players based in North America and some parts of the UK and we are in touch to arrange for these players to have a fair opportunity to vie for selection,”McComie added.
T&T will enter the Caribbean leg of qualification from July 23-31 in a group hosted by St Vincent and the Grenadines along with Suriname and Guyana.
The winner of the four preliminary groups and the best second placed team will advance to the final CFU round in Jamaica from November 3-11, 2012. The CONCACAF final round takes place in Puebla, Mexico from February 18-March 2, 2013.
The Caribbean will have five berths in the final 12-nation round from which four will qualify for the FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Turkey. Mexico, Canada and USA are automatic qualifiers to the CONCACAF final round.