Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under 20 footballers will leave these shores on Sunday en route to Egypt as they enter the final leg of their preparations of the FIFA Under 20 World Championship.
Head coach Zoran Vranes will lead a 22-player squad to England, Turkey and Cyprus over the next few weeks as they head into their opening match of the tournament against hosts Egypt in Alexandre on September 24.
Following extensive warm-up tours to Dubai, Seoul and Nigeria followed by a warm-up tournament in Venezuela against the likes of Paraguay and Brazil, T&T will now get to measure their readiness against Cameroon, Uruguay, United States and Australia.
First up, the team will head to Sheffield for a live-in training camp where they first play againt a Sheffield United Reserve team and a possible game against Manchester United’s Under 20 team. They they’re off to Turkey to play against the hosts, Cameroon and Uruguay. From there the junior “Soca Warriors” will head to Cyprus for games against the Americans and Australians.
Team manager Chris De Silva also revealed that Belgium-based midfielder Khaleem Hyland and German-based striker Jamal Gay will join the team close to fourteen days before the World Championship which is the time alloted for the release of players according to FIFA rules.
The T&T team is expected to arrive in Egypt on September 20, four days before its opening match in Alexandre. T&T also plays Italy on September 28 and Paraguay on October 1.
“We still have some time to get it all right and this period that I’m talking to will be well utlised because we will be raising the intensity of the training a bit and also playing some good warm up matches against quality opposition,” Vranes told TTFF Media.
“I believe we will be ready but we still have our work to do. I think the players are becoming mentally and physically ready but this is a process we have to ensure continues well into the tournament. We must ready in good timing for our matches in Egypt. We want progress but we do not want to peak too early,” Vranes added.
The team continues its preparation on Thursday and Friday morning at the Ato Boldon and Marvin Lee Stadium respectively and will head to London on Sunday.
Fixtures
T&T vs Sheffield United Reserve
T&T vs Manchester United U-20
T&T vs Turkey
T&T vs Cameroon
T&T vs Uruguay
T&T vs United States
T&T vs Australia