National midfielder Jomal Williams is back home with his first international goal under his belt and he couldn’t have wanted a better team for which to get his maiden strike.
In fact, the said ground on which Williams banged in his opener, was rated by FIFA as one of the football world’s classic stadiums, along with the likes of the Maracanã, Wembley Stadium, the San Siro, the Estadio Azteca, and Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Williams returned home with the rest of the T&T team from the three-match tour on Saturday night. He will be back on the training field with W Connection as they prepare for their Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions’ League campaign starting in August.
“It was simply a special feeling to get my first goal in that match,” Williams said.
“Everything about the occasion was something that I will never forget. It was disappointing for us to lose the game but the occasion was great.
“And the quality of the team and the history of the stadium made it even more special for me,” he added.
“The experience of the entire tour was good, playing at a high level against three teams that really made it tough for us.
“The intensity of the matches was really high and I think it would help us as players, especially some of the new faces that are not accustomed to this level of football.
“I think this was definitely a valuable lesson for us going forward and looking ahead to the games in September.
“There are players who were on this tour who are hungry for the opportunity to make the World Cup squad but they also saw for themselves that there is a difference in terms of the level and they have to keep putting in the extra work and being consistent if they want to stay on the team,” Williams added.
The former Caledonia player has been attracting interest from a few overseas clubs with Costa Rican top flight Deportivo Saprissa showing interest in him in recent times.
Even before representing T&T at the Under 20 Level, Williams made the National Under 23 Team for the Olympic Qualifiers in 2012 under head coach Angus Eve at the age of 17. He appeared in the final group match against Honduras at the Home Depot Centre in Los Angeles.