Trinidad and Tobago captain Dwight Yorke maintains that his team will need to be disciplined for the entire match on Saturday if they are to leave Guatemala City with their World Cup chances still alive.
“We’ve played Guatemala once already in this campaign and they have shown that they are a team that cannot be underestimated which for us means that we have to keep playing whether we are ahead or behind in the game itself.
"I think we have the squad of players capable of bringing home the result we will all like at the end but it’s also not going to be easy by any means. We have to play well for the 90 minutes or more,” he added.
T&T last defeated Guatemala 3-2 in the final round of the 2006 campaign back in Port of Spain with Russell Latapy and Stern John among the scorers. Both men are here in Guatemala City but there remained doubts over whether John will be in the 18-man squad for the match as he is still nursing a hamstring problem. The other players involved in the 2005 encounter were in form striker Jason Scotland, Chris Birchall, Carlos Edwards, Avery John and Yorke.
Edwards was also the lone scorer in T&Ts 5-1 defeat at Saturday’s match venue in the first meeting between the two countries in 2005. “We will be in a confident mood going into the game because there’s no other way at this point,” Edwards told TTFF Media.
“Obviously we realize what the situation is at the moment. We cannot afford to lose really. I think the 9-0 win over Dominican Republic would have done a good bit for our confidence level even though the opponent wasn’t that strong. But I believe it the sort of run we needed and it puts us in a good mood now for Saturday. Experience will be a key factor for us and once we can be patient but also not allow the Guatemala team to settle then the game could be ours for the taking. We will have to take our chances well and I am confident that we can do that,” Edwards added.
Reports here state that ace striker Carlos Ruiz is expected to start despite a troubled knee. And the rest of their start team could include Fredy Garcia, Carlos Gallardo, Carlos Castrillo, Guillermo Ramirez, Luis Ricardo Rodriguez, Mario Rodriguez and Gustavo Cabrera among others.
T&T contingent to cheer on Warriors
The T&T team will have the musical backing of Angostura Woodbrook Playboyz who will arrive here on Saturday morning along with 100 plus fans on a charter flight on which His Excellency President George Maxwell Richards will also arrive.
“The charter will arrive with the President, other officials and fans as well as the Angostura Woodbrook Playboyz. They will perform our National Anthem thanks the efforts of the Tourism Development Company (TDC) and Angostura who have agreed to fund the band’s trip to Guatemala. We will attempt to give the team the best possible support away from home and those back in Trinidad will be able to cheer on while watching the game on the televisions,” said TTFF Special Advisor Jack Warner, who arrives in Guatemala on Friday night. Warner also commented on the fact that efforts will also ensure that the T&T supporters are safe during their one-night stay in Guatemala.
“We will ensure too that everything goes smoothly. It’s a pity what happened to the Univision cameraman Caesar Galaviz who was stabbed some ten times or more and robbed of his valuables on Tuesday night in Port of Spain. I ensure that he received the best treatment. We transferred him from the Port of Spain General Hospital to St Clair Medical Center from which he will be discharged on Saturday before going back to Mexico on Sunday. He is much better now but of course he is leaving with a very bad impression and has vowed never to return because of the crime situation in our country and moreso our capital,” Warner stated.