Keon Daniel upped his ante in the United States with a fine strike against El Salvador at the Red Bull Arena last Monday.
Daniel got his name into the headlines in the US press, particularly in Philadelphia and is sure to be popular in the Union dressing room when he returns to the MLS club at the end of the Concacaf Gold Cup campaign.
The Tobago-born midfielder was not a regular member of the T&T side following the Caribbean Cup, making a single appearance against Belize and came in for some stick for his absence from the team. That hasn’t fazed him though.
“I don’t see it as criticism. Some people were not actually pleased with me but I don’t worry too much about the media or the critics. I just try to focus on football and doing the best I can on the field of play. That’s what I did against El Salvador,” Daniel said.
Of course he understands that being a professional requires more than scoring a goal or two.
“It’s a process and being out here with Philadelphia has helped me a lot. I’m hoping to maintain my position in the professional world outside and hopefully I can continue to improve,” Daniel said.
“I know that it’s a big deal for us to qualify for the quarterfinals and hopefully this can be a start of really good things for our football and for us as players,”