This country’s senior footballers will be looking to get their second and final training session at the Hasely Crawford Stadium depending on the weather conditions in Port of Spain on Thursday, the eve of the crucial 2018 World Cup qualifier on Friday from 7:06pm.
T&T head coach Stephen Hart conducted a training session at the Larry Gomes Stadium on Tuesday evening after being asked to shift from the Hasely Crawford late on Tuesday and another session took place at the Arima venue on Wednesday. Guatemala trained at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Tuesday and had previously used the Larry Gomes venue. FIFA Match commissioner Victor Alfaro Gonzalez of Costa Rica who arrived in the country on Tuesday night, will have the final say on Thursday as to whether the teams can have their 45-minute training session at the game venue.
The Referee for Friday’s match is John Pitti of Panama while the assistant referee 1 is Christian Ramirez Soto of Honduras and assistant referee 2 is Gabriel Camerena of Panama.
Hart has his full compliment of players with Dutch-based winger Levi Garcia joining the training on Tuesday evening. US-based duo Joevin Jones and Cordell Cato also took part as T&T played a 60-minute scrimmage with the Defence Force.
“It’s always a certain buzz in the camp when everyone’s in and this happening about two or three days before the game is something we have to make the most of. Okay so we didn’t have the number of sessions on the match pitch as we would have liked but we have a game to focus on in any event and we’ll get on with the business that we have to take care of,” Hart told TTFA Media.
T&T Midfielder Kevin Molino also trained twice with the rest of the team on Tuesday and he believes the “Warriors” possess the ability to inspire the nation.
“We’ve had a couple good sessions today and everyone is really up for this game on Friday. We are not going to take the game lightly. We have a job to finish and we need to keep building on our last set of performances. We will fight until the end,” Molino told TTFA Media.
“It will mean a great deal for us to advance to the final round. My dream is to qualify for a senior World Cup. I’ve played in an Under 17 and Under 20 World Cup and it will be a fantastic achievement for us to qualify for this World Cup and return to a stage we took in 2006.
“It will boost the national programs and the entire country. There is a lot of crime happening in Trinidad and Tobago and our success can unify the country and this is what want to do. We want to inspire young kids and continue being positive. It will mean a lot for the TTFA and hopefully it can bring us back to where we were before,” Molino stated.
The Orlando City player went on to say that the 24-man squad intend to deliver for Hart,
“Coach Hart has been a great asset to the team. He is a great person and when you look at the team you can see every players wants to fight and give him the results he wants and together as team we will go out there and give our hearts for the country,” Molino added.
Fans are reminded that no tickets will be on sale at the game venue on Friday but will be on sale at Lotto Locations at $300 (covered) and $150 (uncovered).