T&T Soca Warriors coach Stephen Hart says he is very happy with his 23-man squad selection for the 18th Caribbean Football Union Cup Finals which comes off in Montego Bay, Jamaica from November 11 to 18.
In Jamaica, T&T, record eight-time winners will compete in Group A of the eight-team tournament against Curacao, its first opponent on Tuesday, French Guiana (November 15) and defending champions Cuba, two days later.
Pool B comprises three former winners in Haiti (2007), Jamaica (1991, 1998, 2005, 2008, 2010) and Martinique (1993) alongside former top ranked CFU team, Antigua & Barbuda.
For the final stage of the competition, Hart made a few changes to the squad drafting five players who were not involved in the semifinal round which T&T topped on home soil.
This after beating Dominican Republic (6-1), St Lucia (2-0) and Antigua & Barbuda (1-0) to end with maximum nine points at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva last month.
However, despite advancing without hiccups, Hart stated that he intended to tweak his roster a bit, in order to get the right balance to deal with the rigours of potentially playing four matches in eight days which he described as being absurd.
And coming into the squad announced on Tuesday by the former Canada coach are un-capped Iceland-based former St Anthony’s College striker Jonathan Glenn, Finnish-based trio Aubrey David, Jamal Gay and Shahdon Winchester as well as Lithuania-based defender Radanfah Abu Bakr and Japs North East Stars goalkeeper, Adrian Foncette.
The players failing to retain their places were Belgium-based defender Sheldon Bateau, striker Trevin Ceasar and defender Alvin Jones.
And speaking prior to a training session at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Wednesday, Hart admitted to being more comfortable with the composition of the team. “This group gives me much more options to work with tactically, because in the previous round of matches I did not like the way we played when the opposition “parked the bus against us”.
With regards to the call-up of the speedy Glenn, Hart noted that he has been aware of the player for a while, and has watched his progressed from playing in midfield to his new strike role.
Regarding the changes in the start of the tournament, the T&T coach said it was both bizarre and fortunate for most teams at the same time.
“It’s bizarre because the change was made with the tournament just around the corner, but at the same time with our team and others having problems with flights into Jamaica, it allows us a little extra time to prepare.”
Looking ahead to the competition, Hart said while everyone would like the team to win the tournament, his main objective as coach is to qualify for the Concacaf Gold Cup.
“Our group will not be easy, and we cannot worry about who we face including the defending champions Cuba, we just have to go out and focus on each match and do what is required to get the job done.”
The T&T coach was also very critical of the scheduling of the matches, saying four matches to be played by a team getting to the last day of the tournament is very unrealistic and somewhat crazy.
He added, “Just like in the previous round, some of the players clubs have already written to us requesting that their players only play two matches over that time frame as stated in FIFA guidelines as the clubs are fuming with the format.
“So once again I will have to rotate the squad wisely as the health of the players is my most important concern, but I am not too concerned as I believe we are capable of producing the results.”
Overall, Hart, who will be involved in his first Caribbean Cup finals and the task of adding to T&T’s previous triumphs in 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2001, the first in 13 years said he expects the tournament to be of high quality.
“From what I have heard, Curacao, Martinique, Jamaica and Antigua & Barbuda will all be boosted by additional overseas-based players which some add quality to their teams, making the matches even better,” said Hart.
“But for me, I will just take it one match at a time as I always consider the opening match for any team, for us in this case Curacao to be the most interesting.”
At the end of each round-robin group in Jamaica, the top teams will contest the final, while the second placed teams will meet for third spot.
All four teams competing on the final day will also qualify for next year’s Concacaf Gold Cup while there is also the added incentive that the CFU champions will compete at the 2016 Copa America, against the best of South America.
The best third place team from CFU (according to group stage results) will also have a chance to qualify for the Concacaf Gold Cup via a qualification play-off, against Honduras, the 2014 Copa Centroamericana fifth-placed team.
The last time T&T captured the record eighth regional title was in May 2001 on home via 3-0 win over Haiti at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo with goals from Dale Saunders, Brent Rahim and Arnold Dwarika.
Tournament delay
The Caribbean Football Union via its website posted a statement explaining the delay by 24 hours the start of the 18th CFU Cup in Montego Bay, Jamaica from Tuesday which read: Following the request of at least three participating member associations and the support of several other participating member associations, the CFU Executive Committee has been considering the delay of the Final Round of the CFU Caribbean Cup by one day.
The CFU President and Executive Committee decided to change the dates of the CFU Caribbean. The new dates are November 11-18, 2014.
This change of date will therefore mean that Group A of the tournament consisting of Cuba, Curacao, French Guiana and T&T will commence match play on November 11, with the second and third match days being played on November 13 and 15, respectively. The teams teams in Group A are therefore required to depart on November 16.
Additionally, Group B consisting of Antigua & Barbuda, Haiti, Jamaica and Martinique will commence play on November 12, with the second and third match days being played on November 14 and 16 respectively.
The teams in Group B are therefore required to depart on November 17 while the Championship and Third place playoff will now be played on November 18. The match venue and match times remain unchanged as previously communicated.