IN a stern defence of his coaching style, Soca Warriors head coach Angus Eve said he has little similarities with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. However, he noted that his pragmatic approach has been getting results for T&T, and he will stick to his guns.
Eve and his staff named their 23-man squad for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup which kicks off on June 24 in the US and Canada.
T&T will play in Group A alongside regional powerhouse US, Jamaica and a team from the Gold Cup qualifying tournament.
T&T will face a yet-to-be determined qualifying team in their opening match on June 25, followed by Jamaica on June 28 and US on July 2.
Speaking to T&T Football Association media on Thursday, Eve said, “I think defensively we have been very good as a team. It does not matter what group we put on the park…Yes, I am pragmatic, yes, that is my style. I am not Pep Guardiola, but the style is working. We have played six games for the season and we only conceded one goal so far. The team was picked with that in mind.”
There are a few experienced defenders in the Soca Warriors team with the likes of Sheldon Bateau and Aubrey David. Wing backs Alvin Jones and Shannon Gomez are expected to bring their attacking flair to the team.
The Soca Warriors were initially supposed to begin their Gold Cup qualification tournament campaign on Friday. However, T&T qualified directly to the Gold Cup after FIFA penalised Nicaragua for fielding an ineligible player. As a result of Nicaragua's punishment, T&T qualified for the main draw and also replaced Nicaragua in Concacaf Nations League A.
Eve is glad to welcome Molik Khan and Real Gill who represented the national under-20 team last year, along with experienced players like Bateau, David, Levi Garcia and Kevin Molino.
“We have a nice balance of youth. Some nice young players who played (T&T) Under-20 and have now graduated and with a good blend of senior players and some players in between which augurs well going forward in the future.”
Talking about the group T&T have been drawn in, Eve said, “No fear for us.”
Having said that, Eve knows his players are not playing in the top leagues in England, Spain or Germany, but he is still confident in their potential.
“The truth is we don’t have (English) premiership league players anymore…but I have 100 per cent faith in the guys, 100 per cent belief in the guys and 100 per cent believe in the team structure that we have created. I think we have a good solid staff with people complementing each other all over the park.”
Eve said his players will have to bring their A-game against Jamaica and US. “We know Jamaica is stacked with a lot of premiership players and players playing in very good leagues around the world similar to the US team. Although this time they seem to be picking more of a locally-based team from the MLS (Major League Soccer) primarily…All the football in Concacaf now is very competitive as we go into a World Cup campaign.”
T&T Squad
Goalkeepers:
Marvin Phillip, Nicklas Frenderup, Denzil Smith.
Defenders:
Sheldon Bateau, Alvin Jones, Kareem Moses, Shannon Gomez, Triston Hodge, Aubrey David, Leland Archer.
Midfielders and Forwards:
Joevin Jones, Neveal Hackshaw, Andre Rampersad, Molik Khan, Ajani Fortune, Daniel Phillips, Kaile Auvray, Real Gill, Ryan Telfer, Kevin Molino, Kadeem Corbin, Malcolm Shaw, Levi Garcia.