Brazilian-born midfielder Jose Luis Seabra swung balls from all parts of the penalty box as Trinidad and Tobagos senior footballers went through their final session but coach Bertille St Clair had no chance but to ask the player to turn up for a seat in the stands on Sunday for this countrys Digicel Caribbean Cup encounter with St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.
Reason for this is that the TTFF was up to Friday evening still awaiting word from local immigration or Ministry officials on the application for T&T citizenship for the Vibe CT 105 W Connection player.
St Clair however still involved the player in the session as skipper Angus Eve and his men did their final touches.
I think he has been welcomed by all in the team and its a pity that we still cant have him playing in a match for us, Eve told TTFF Media. But you can see that hes fitted in well and hes looking quite sharp too.
Eve scored the winning 84th minute item in T&Ts 2-1 win over the Vincentians in the final semi-final round World Cup qualifier in November. Now with the likes of Brent Sancho, Marvin Andrews, Clayton Ince, Brent Rahim, Dennis Lawrence and goalscorer Hector Sam away on club duty, Eve still expects his troops can come good when action kicks off at 3:30pm.
I think the Vincentians will be coming up against a much different side in that its the first time we would be going into a match with an extended period of training together under our belts and as a result of this I think the fans can expect a more compact performance. Its just a matter of the coach using the players in the right positions and taking the right approach in the game. We obviously will be going all out to achieve a handsome advantage at home, said Eve who sent about four perfect free kicks into the upper corner of the net during Saturdays session. Yea and definitely I will be looking to hit the net again on Sunday. I think this has come about with my experience in that Im now able to execute better from the spot and there are other areas of the game where I may be able to see things that another player may not necessarily pick out and again this is where I am hoping my experience can add something to the team.
New York/New Jersey MetroStars striker Cornell Glen completed his rehab on a strained hamstring with physiotherapist Zeph Nicoholas and is expected to take the field with Nigel Pierre, Conrad Smith and Gary Glasgow also keen to get in the action. Experience utility player Anthony Rougier will also hope for proper support from the likes of Derek King, Anton Pierre, Marlon Rojas and Keyeno Thomas while playmaker Kerwyn Jemmott, Denzil Theobald, Atiba Charles, Leslie Fitzpatrick, Michael Celestine, Cyd Gray and Avery John will be hoping to make an impression as the February 9 showdown with the United States gets nearer. Daurance Williams is expected to start in goal with Jan Michael Williams as the back up.
Coach Zoran Vranes decided against training at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium at the last moment after his team was scheduled to train before T&T. Instead, he preferred to conduct a session at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Centre of Excellence and preferred not to say too much about his team.
I think it will be another competitive game and of course we will try to get the win this time, the Yugoslavian-born coach said. Another Digicel third round match takes place between Haiti and Cuba in Port-au-Prince on Sunday.