Trinidad and Tobago’s Senior Men’s Team will begin their on-field preparations for Friday’s World Cup qualifier versus Costa Rica with a double session on Monday.
Head Coach Stephen Hart will conduct a light session in the morning period and will step up the pace in the evening from 6pm. (Venues to be confirmed, either Hasely Crawford Stadium outside field or Larry Gomes)
Hart will not have his full compliment of players with US-based duo Aubrey David and Joevin Jones scheduled to arrive in Port of Spain on Monday while French-based midfielder John Bostock scheduled in Tuesday as his club RC Lens faces Ajaccio in a league fixture on Monday evening.
“We are aware of the situations with a couple of the players. It is a situation which we cannot avoid but the majority of the squad will be here and we will get things rolling on Monday. As always, it will be an important period for us with all energies being focused on being ready for Friday’s match,” Hart told TTFA Media.
US-based midfielder Kevan George, took time out on Sunday to share some insight into his game preparations, which he explains, begins from the moment that he receives official notification of his selection from the FA. He arrived in Port of Spain on Sunday afternoon.
George is on a high, after being named “Most Valuable Player ” last week by his club Jacksonville Armada FC in the North American Soccer League.
“At this point I am very hungry and determined to for these two World Cup Qualifying games. I’m in the zone now- focused and locked in for whatever role I have to play to get us maximum points from our opening games in the hex,” George told TTFA Media.
When the call comes
“From the moment I get the call, in the back of my mind I start envisioning camp, mainly the type of training sessions and opponents we will face. Then I write down what I pray to accomplish for the upcoming camp. Every camp has a different mission. I’m typically disciplined in the way i eat but I eat even more greens and less meat to give me as much energy as possible.
Bags are packed
“I pack passport and bags the day before I leave to make sure I do not forget anything. I’m very meticulous with everything so I have to make sure everything is folded neatly and packed away in the suitcase or carry on. I always take a pair of boots, shin guards and change of clothes with me on airplane in my backpack just in case my checked luggage gets lost or delayed.
The Drive to the Airport
“On the way to the airport, I normally listen to music to start feeling the vibe of meeting up with my teammates in camp. When on the airplane, I normally sleep or watch a good action movie.
Marking the Opponents
Costa Rica has several big threats that we respect such as Joel Campbell and Bryan Ruiz, just to name a couple. They have Talented individuals and are very smart at finding spaces,” George said.
Making the Right Start
“The start is the most important part for us because we want to put ourselves in a position to qualify early. In the Gold Cup we started off our first game of the tournament extremely fast and we rode that wave to the quarter finals unfortunately bowing out on penalty kicks. Even though there are better opponents in these World Cup qualifiers,, I think if we can emulate that start we had in the last Gold Cup we can make the dream a reality,” George said
Striking the balance for the two matches
“It is key that we don’t get ahead of ourselves and start counting games and points. We need to expand all of our energies on Costa Rica and worry about Honduras when that time comes. We have a pretty balanced squad so whoever is on the field for both games, we are confident that they can do the job so no one will have to conserve energy for the next game.
What about that “MVP” award?
“I was very honored and happy to be voted by fans as the Team MVP, but I do not dwell on it though. I’m not a person that set forth goals such as “I want to be team MVP” but it was a nice touch to conclude the season for me personally.” George added.
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