Former national midfielder Russell Latapy has been included in a four-man coaching staff to work alongside new T&T football coach Dwight Yorke for the 2026 FIFA/Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers, which will resume in June next year.
Derek King, who was appointed the caretaker coach following the sacking of Angus Eve in July, is also on the staff as an assistant coach with England’s Neil Wood, while Anthony Crea is the strength and conditioning from Australia, where Yorke had his first successful stint as a coach with Macarthurs FC in the Australian A-League back in 2022.
Wood, born January 4, 1983, is a former midfield player at Manchester United who failed to make it to the first team due to injuries. He was sent out on loan several times, first to Belgian club Royal Antwerp, where he made his professional debut in 2001, and later to Peterborough United and Burnley before he finally departed the club in 2004 for Coventry City.
Upon his retirement, Wood began coaching, beginning at Aston Villa in their academy before moving back to United, where he rose through the ranks to become the Under-23 manager in 2019.
After three years in the role, Wood was appointed manager of Salford City, his first role in senior football. In 2023, Wood was sacked by Salford, with the club 21st in the league.
Crea, on the other hand, is a high-performance specialist who is considered one of Australia’s most experienced coaches.
He played a central role in delivering a swag of silverware during his spell with Melbourne Victory and has worked with some of the Australian game’s biggest names, including Harry Kewell, Mark Schwarzer, John Aloisi, and Tim Cahill, just to name a few.
Since starting his career in 1997 at Marconi Soccer Club, Anthony has been part of some of Australian football’s most memorable moments, including the 2004 Olympics and the unforgettable 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign that saw Australia reach the finals for the first time in 30 years.
Yorke, a former T&T, Aston Villa, and Manchester United striker, touched down on local soil last Friday carrying the burdens of qualifying the twin island republic to the World Cup. It would be their second such time at the World Cup if Yorke could deliver and will follow the country’s 2006 appearance in Germany, where they drew goalless with Sweden and were beaten 2-0 by England and Paraguay.
Yorke began a live-in camp at the Home of Football in Balmain, Couva, yesterday, mere days after meeting with the TTFA executive and other members.
During his first session with the team at the Ato Boldon Stadium, he had the support of Wood, while Crea was expected to arrive last night. The camp, which is scheduled to run for the period of the FIFA Window, which runs from November 11–19, included some 30 local players, including Tristan Hodge, who returned from injury recently, Reon Moore, who was left out of the country’s last two matches in the Concacaf Nations League against Cuba, as well as Joevin Jones and talented midfielder Kevin Molino, among many others.
Latapy was an assistant coach to Yorke when Macarthurs FC claimed success in 2022.
The Soca Warriors are currently in the second position in Group B of the World Cup qualifiers behind Costa Rica after a 2-2 draw with regional rival Grenada and a 7-1 demolition of the Bahamas both in June. They will next face St. Kitts/Nevis in the third match in June next year, needing to win to be among the top two teams to advance.
SOURCE: T&T Guardian