There is hunger, desire and belief in the Soca Warriors’ ranks ahead of their World Cup qualifying campaign.
And skipper Aubrey David said his players are keen on sending a message when they face Grenada in their first Group B match, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, tomorrow.
David, addressing the media ahead of the team’s training session at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, yesterday, said all the players, as well as the coaching staff, share a similar vision of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and he emphasised that it would take a total team effort to realise that dream.
“I think the team is very excited and geared up for this World Cup campaign. This is the first World Cup campaign for a lot of players and it is just for us to get off on the right foot, God spare life, and hit the ground running and send a message to the group,” David said yesterday.
“It doesn’t get bigger than the World Cup as everyone knows. This is the dream. As coach (Angus Eve) said, it has been a process and we have been playing games over the last few years (as part of that process) and we have been making significant improvement and I think it is just for us to now take one game at a time and go step by step, but I think the guys are motivated and ready to go,” he added.
David wants T&T to get off on the right track and that entails more than just scoring goals. “I think we want to get off on the right foot but not just scoring goals, we want a total effort from the team,” the T&T captain said.
“The more we keep them out, the more we give our attackers a chance and we’ve been scoring goals. The attackers have been in good form and goals can come from different places,” adding, “I just think we’re not going to put all the pressure on the attackers.”
He continued: “We need a whole team effort. We need to defend well, manage the game well, and also score some goals so we can send the right message to the group and we can get off on the right foot.”
Asked if the team was comfortable with the plans they have set for their opponents, David said: “It has been happening since we played in the Nations League. The majority of the squad, the core of the squad, already know the game plan and the ideas of the coach, so it is just to pass it on to the younger players and newcomers.
“We have seen that we have had significant improvement so obviously it means we have bought into the ideas of the coach and we just continue to build on it and be disciplined and take it step by step,” he explained.
Asked what it will mean for T&T to make it back to the World Cup, David believes it will lift the nation.
“We all know qualifying for a World Cup can help the country and we already know the violent situation and the negative energy we have around the nation and I think qualifying for a World Cup can lift us as a nation,” he reiterated.
“We can bring love to many communities and it can help us on the whole, not just footballing-wise but as a country,” David concluded.
SOURCE: T&T Express