CANADA-BASED flanker Ryan Telfer says the Soca Warriors must show no fear for their Honduran counterparts when they clash in their opening match of the 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League A campaign from 10 pm (T&T time) on September 6 at the Estadio Nacional Chelato Ucles in Tegucigalpa.
Under then-coach Dennis Lawrence, Telfer was a member of a T&T team that suffered 2-0 and 4-0 defeats to Honduras during the 2019/20 Nations League A campaign. Current team captain Aubrey David is the other survivor from T&T's heavy 4-0 loss at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in November 2019, and the 30-year-old Telfer says he and his teammates need to be brave if they are to grind out a result against a Honduran team T&T last defeated 11 years ago in a Concacaf Gold Cup encounter.
Stephen Hart was the coach of the T&T team at the time, and the Soca Warriors will be led into battle by caretaker coach Derek King, who served as an assistant to both Hart and the team's most recent coach, Angus Eve.
"Looking at previous World Cup qualifiers, teams like Canada, Mexico and the US also understood that coming to Honduras was a big task and coming here is a big issue," Telfer told T&T Football Association (TTFA) Media.
"We're looking to stay focused on what we can do and what we can bring to the table, and try not to be afraid of the environment Honduras brings because they do have a lot of fans.
"The last few times we've played against teams ranked higher than us we did well and we were able to match their intensity and style of play. Once we bring that intensity and energy, we'll be able to bring that result."
Though there has been a coaching change, Telfer said the team's core group is still intact and he expects them to stick to the values they have established over the last few years as well.
"It's always a big change in terms of changing coaches for the teams, but in this particular instance, the entire team has known Derek (King) for a while," he said.
"It's a bit of both worlds, understanding what Derek wants to bring to the table and how we could replicate that on the field. In terms of that, I believe the core values of the team stays the same and we're just ready to represent."
The Soca Warriors progressed to the quarterfinals of the Nations League A cycle last year, before being knocked out by eventual champions USA.
Telfer said, "It's a big opportunity for us to show why we deserve to be there."
With the Soca Warriors' second Nations League A match scheduled for September 10 at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, Tobago, Scottish-based full-back Andre Raymond, who became a regular fixture during the previous campaign, said it's imperative for T&T to get off to a positive start.
"We want to start off the new Concacaf Nations League campaign on the right foot. I think the boys are prepared and ready to give everything on the field to come out with the three points," Raymond said.
Raymond said supporters can expect T&T to have attack-minded personnel on the field as they hunt a win.
"This group of boys has built a really deep chemistry. Once the chemistry is there on and off the pitch, we can do good things."
Last September, the Soca Warriors pulled off a dramatic 3-2 win away to El Salvador in an epic Nations League match.
King will hope his charges can get a similar result in his debut as caretaker coach.
SOURCE: T&T Newsday