Trinidad and Tobago senior men’s football team coach Angus Eve has called up a 35-man training squad, comprising mostly of home-based players, for a training camp from February 5-8 at Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar.
This camp serves as part of preparations for the upcoming Copa America play-in versus Canada which takes place in Frisco, Texas on March 24. The winner advances to the 2024 Copa America in June.
Several members of the squad that made it through to the Concacaf Nations League quarter-finals have been selected for this camp.
They include TT Premier Football League 2023 player of the year Justin ‘Shiggy’ Garcia of Defence Force, Heritage Petroleum Point Fortin FC goalkeeper Denzil Smith, AC Port of Spain midfielders Duane Muckette and Michel Poon-Angeron, Terminix La Horquetta Rangers defender Ross Russell Jr, Miscellaneous Police FC right-back Alvin Jones and Defence Force goalie Christopher Biggette, midfielder Kevon Goddard and winger Reon Moore.
Eve recalled AC PoS midfielder John-Paul Rochford, Police goalkeeper Adrian Foncette, Defence Force midfielder Kaihim Thomas and forward Brent Sam, Tiger Tanks Club Sando Jamal Jack and Terminix La Horquetta Rangers forward Isaiah Lee.
Additionally, there were first-time invitations German-born Keenon Erfuth, whose mother is Trinidadian and Denmark-based Marc Gangia, who is eligible for T&T through his father.
Gangia is a 26-year-old forward with Dalum IF (Danish fifth tier). Erfuth is a 21-year-old forward with VfR Neumünster, a German association football club based in Neumünster, Schleswig-Holstein.
Eve is keen to get back on the training pitch for the first time since the 2-1 victory over the US in the Concacaf Nations League last November.
“It’s a great chance for us to get some of the guys together as a group again because as you would have seen, the majority of them would have returned to their clubs and have been very active in the local league since November,” Eve told TTFA Media.
“There are few regulars in this squad but we also took the opportunity to invite some players who we believe have been showing up and performing for their clubs in the local premier league."
He confirmed a busy international schedule of matches for T&T, starting with the March 24 single-match Copa America qualifier.
After that, the 2026 Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers kick off in June. The Soca Warriors are in Group B alongside Costa Rica, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and the Bahamas.
“There is a lot of international football coming up with the Copa America qualifier being the most urgent assignment but of course, there are the World Cup qualifiers following soon after in June. These sort of windows where we can have some time with the players available are extremely important for us,” Eve added,.
Trinidad and Tobago Training Squad:
Kaihim Thomas, Reon Moore, Jamali Garcia, Christopher Biggette, Jabari St Hillaire, Kevon Goddard, Justin Garcia, Brent Sam, Nathaniel Garcia, Justin Sadoo (all Defence Force), Duane Muckette, Michel Poon-Angeron, Liam Burns, John-Paul Rochford, Isaiah Leacock (all AC Port of Spain), Real Gill, Shervohnez Hamilton, Kai Moos, Jamal Jack (all Club Sando), Luke Phillips, Denzil Smith, Justin Cornwall, Mark Ramdeen (all Point Fortin Civic), Alvin Jones, Robert Primus, Adrian Foncette (all Police FC), David Daniel, Ross Russell Jr, Isaiah Lee (all La Horquetta Rangers), Mickaeel Jem Gordon (1976 FC Phoenix), Rhondel Gibson (Eagles FC), Keenon Erfuth (VFR Neumunster—Germany), Marc Gangia (Dalum IF—Denmark), Jonathan Assue (unattached).