King pleads for support but remains up-beat.
Trinidad and Tobago National Under 20 men's team has been grouped with; USA, Jamaica, Panama, Guatemala and Aruba for the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championships which will be held in Jamaica from January 9-24, 2015.
The newely crowned 2014 Caribbean Football Champions will open against host Jamaica at the National Stadium in Kingston on January 9th. Then Aruba (11th), Guatemala (14th), Panama (18th) and close off against the mighty USA on the 21st.
Head coach Derek King told SWO: "The group is a pretty tough group, but we can't really complain as both groups seems to be pretty balance."
"Jamaica at home is always a competitive team, USA and Panama has proved they are solid performers at this level. Panama especially, has improved, you saw what happened the last time they played us at the Under 17 level 2 years ago, basically, with the same players we will meet. And we can't right-off Aruba and Guatemala either."
"This is a good opportunity for us playing in Jamaica because it's like playing at home in a sense. We reviewed the training grounds, the stadiums and hotels and they were very comfortable."
"Our preparations now will changed a bit as the teams we were hoping to play as warm ups are now in our group therefore we can't play them, so more or less we have to fall back on plan B and C, we have to sit down and put things in place now."
"I am just hoping we can get the support from the players Clubs cause we will need the them full-time come December 01st for training camps and international dates."
"I really hope some sponsors and everyone in the football circle come onboard to help out as this team is the future of T&T football and have some good talented players on it."
"It's important for them to qualify for the Under 20 World Cup because it will benefit the players careers as this is the level scouts pays particularly close attention to and will be there looking on for future stars."
"Both club and country will also benefit from this greatly in the near future, I really hope we get the help to prepare this team better, the guys are eager to play and I have been working hard doing the best I can to help, added King."
The 2015 CONCACAF Under-20 final-edition will see twelve teams being field: five from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), four from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), and three from North America.
The tournament will crown the Confederation champion at the Under 20 age level, and qualify four teams to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015. Mexico are two-time defending CONCACAF Under 20 champions, having claimed the title in Puebla, Mexico in 2013 and in Guatemala City in 2011.
Groups
Group A - Trinidad & Tobago, Panama, Jamaica, Aruba, United States and Guatemala.
Group B - Mexico, Cuba, Canada, El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti.
Fixtures
FRIDAY JAN. 9 (Jamaica National Stadium).
15:00 ARU VS PAN
17:30 USA VS GUA
20:00 JAM VS TRI
SATURDAY JAN. 10 (Montego Bay)
15:00 MEX VS CUB
17:30 HON VS SLV
20:00 HAI VS CAN
SUNDAY JAN. 11
15:00 TRI VS ARU
17:30 PAN VS USA
20:00 JAM VS GUA
MONDAY JAN. 12
15:00 CAN VS MEX
17:30 CUB VS HON
20:00 SLV VS HAI
WEDNESDAY JAN. 14
15:00 GUA VS TRI
17:30 ARU VS USA
20:00 JAM VS PAN
THURSDAY JAN. 15
15:00 SLV VS CAN
17:30 MEX VS HON
20:00 HAI VS CUB
SUNDAY JAN. 18
15:00 PAN VS TRI
17:30 GUA VS ARU
20:00 JAM VS USA
MONDAY JAN. 19
15:00 CUB VS CAN
17:30 SLV VS MEX
20:00 HAI VS HON
WEDNESDAY JAN. 21
15:00 PAN VS GUA
17:30 USA VS TRI
20:00 JAM VS ARU
THURSDAY JAN. 22
15:00 CUB VS SLV
17:30 HON VS CAN
20:00 HAI VS MEX
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