Trinidad and Tobagos senior footballers will now prepare for four vital warm-up matches ahead of the clash with United States on Ash Wednesday.
Coming off 2-1 and 1-0 losses to Antigua and Barbuda and St Vincent and the Grenadines in what were considered training games ahead of the final round of qualifying matches, the Soca Warriors will be aiming to raise their game in the upcoming friendlies against Azerbaijan on January 21 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium and on January 23 at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium.
Added to that, games against Haiti on January 31 and Jamaica on February 2 have been scheduled to be played in Miami. Jamaica also advanced to the Digicel Cup finals after being held 0-0 by French Guiana on the weekend to come away 5-0 winners on aggregate.
Coach Bertille St Clair is likely to make some final decisions on the composition of the team for the qualifying matches based on what he sees in these upcoming warm ups.
It is going to be important to see how the guys perform because this is going to be our last set of games before February 9 and the level of the team must be get higher, St Clair told TTFF Media.
Some of the guys have grown but we need everyone to be at their peak and then we can see what the formation of the final team will be with the inclusion of the overseas guys that we will need for the matches.
He expects to have the services of the requested overseas pros for the matches in Miami.
Returning to training this week will be newly signed Kansas City Wizards striker Scott Sealy. The team will resume training on Wednesday morning at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Assistant coach David Nakhid is expected in the country during this period while technical consultant Graham Taylor left St Vincent for London on Monday and will continue to liaise with the technical staff. St Clair has called Sealy, Anthony Noreiga, Osei Telesford and Brazilian-born midfielder Jose Luis Seabra to rejoin the current squad in training.
Taylor in his meeting with the team at the Sunset Shores Hotel on Monday morning credited the team for not losing character after going a goal down especially under the conditions at the Arnos Vale. The guys never give in and this is something that we need to continue ensure that continues in our preparations and playing of matches, Taylor told TTFF Media.
What we had here for the few days I was here was important in that even though it was a short period, certain things were worked on and the players would now have to use this and work on it for their own benefits. As a team, no one knows as yet what the final composition will be when the qualifying matches come around. It may have looked as though there is a lot to worry about because of the results of the last two games but I can tell you that this team is not playing its best football yet and from here on its just a matter of getting all the ingredients in the right mix, Taylor added.