An 18-man Trinidad and Tobago National Under 20 squad will depart for St Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday for a friendly international there later in the week.
Several members of T&T’s previous National Under 17 team as well as some who have had experience with the Senior Team are in the 18-man squad. They include defender Akeem Adams, Glenroy Samuel, Marcus Joseph, Aubrey David, Joe Public striker Jamal Gay, midfielder Leston Paul, Daneil Cyrus and Jean Luc Rochford. The team is coached by Vranes and assistant Hutson Charles and managed by Chris De Silva.
Currently preparing for the CONCACAF Final Round of qualification for the 2009 FIFA World Youth Cup, T&T are also carded to undergo a 10-day training camp in Sao Paolo, Brazil from January 15-25 during which time they will play warm up matches against Fluminense among other clubs.
The eight-team Finals in T&T will qualify four teams for the U-20 World Cup in Egypt, September 25-October 16, 2009. The 1996 CONCACAF U-20 Championship was a 12-team event held in Mexico. Since then it has been staged as two, four-team groups that qualified two teams each to the FIFA world championship. The CONCACAF U-17 championship similarly will return as a single, eight-team event next year.
“We thought it was important to bring back the concept of a championship,” CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer said. “This gives the teams something to play for other than just being a qualifier for the U-20 World Cup.”
T&T will be the host of the finals for the fifth time, the last coming in 2001 when it staged one of the two four-team groups.
Group A will be begin play in Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago on March 6, the first of six consecutive days of round-robin play that also will be staged in Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, Trinidad. The semifinals will be played March 13 in Macoya with the championship and third-place match two days later in Marvin Lee.
Six teams already have qualified for the CONCACAF U-20s. Canada, Mexico and the United States will be joined by host Trinidad and Central American sides Costa Rica and El Salvador plus one other Caribbean representative. (Dec 8,2008)
T&T 18-man squad for SVG
Akeem Adams
Andre Marchan
Andre Quashie
Aubrey David
Curtis Gonzales
Daneil Cyrus
Glenroy Samuel
Jamal Bevon Gay
Jean-luc Rochford
Juma Jamal Clarance
Leston Paul
Marcus Joseph
Marvin Manswell
Mekeil Williams
Nicholas Walker
Sheldon Bateau
Trent Lougheed
Uriah Bentick