TEENAGE sensations Derrel Garcia of St Benedict's College and San Juan Jabloteh and Lindell Sween of San Juan North Secondary/Jabloteh have caught the eye of Soca Warriors head coach Dwight Yorke. Both have been included in Yorke's line-up for a pair of friendlies next month against Concacaf counterparts Jamaica.
On January 29, speaking to the media via Zoom, Yorke, who was a teenager when he made his senior team debut for T&T in the 1980s, said, "We've got two young players that I have seen in the domestic game and we have watched them quite carefully and those two players remind me when I started playing football for the national team. When you look at Derrel Garcia...he reminds me that we do have talent and we have the boy Sweeny who is also a young talent that I like...we want to integrate them."
Garcia, 17, and Sween, 18, are both attacking players who play with flair, and along with their dribbling ability can be a handful for defenders.
T&T will use the Jamaica matches as preparation for the Concacaf Gold Cup preliminary playoffs in March. The Soca Warriors will play twice against Cuba – away on March 21 and at home on March 25.
"This is an opportunity again to view the players, look at them, integrate our philosophies and ideas. As we go through the selection of the players we have added a few new faces to make sure no stone is unturned. We looked at every possible footballer that is available to us – from college football (Secondary Schools Football League), right up to the men's senior team and the domestic game."
The first match on February 6 will kick off from 8.30 pm (T&T time) at the Catherine Hall Stadium, Montego Bay, with the second game scheduled for February 9 at 9 pm at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex in Kingston.
Talking about the style of play the public can expect from the Soca Warriors going forward, Yorke said he wants his team to express themselves in attack but not lose their shape defensively.
"I don't think any coach would tell you they want to play a defensive style of football. There are elements of the game that you have to be good at. You got to be able to attack and create opportunities, but ultimately you have to do that defensively as well...they are going to be spells in that game that Jamaica is going to have us on the back foot and that is just how football is, but then we got to be resilient to make sure we don't concede...we must be able to resist that and come through that and express ourself going forward again."
The former T&T captain and Manchester United striker said he has been scouting players who can play for the national team because of their T&T heritage. "We have our eyes on a few players. I have certainly reached out to a couple of them to let them know we are interested in getting them involved in the team."
Yorke made it clear that players will not be picked simply because they are playing for a quality team, saying it is based on individual performance.
He said everyone will be given an equal chance to play, saying you can't walk into the team because you are a foreign-based player. "The local players are always going to be an integral part of the squad, so let's not get carried away because of all the foreign players...the local players have a significant part to play in our success...all the local players that are in the that have a chance of being in the team."
SQUAD
GOALKEEPERS: Marvin Phillip, Aaron Enill, Jabari St Hillaire
DEFENDERS: Darnell Hospedales, Jamal Jack, Isaiah Garcia, Justin Garcia, Josiah Trimmingham, Jesse Williams
MIDFIELDERS: Tyeres Bailey, Kevin Molino, Nathaniel James, Joevin Jones, Noah Powder, Steffen Yeates, Michael Poon Angeron, John Paul Rochford, Adriel George, Lindell Sween, Kaihim Thomas
FORWARDS: Derrel Garcia,Isaiah Lee, Jariel Arthur, Brent Sam
SOURCE: T&T Newsday