Its here! The Ash Wednesday showdown which will see one of CONCACAFs notorious rivalries take place at the Queens Park Oval has arrived as Trinidad and Tobago begins their 2006 World Cup qualifying final round campaign against the United States in what promises to be an enticing affair from 3:30pm.
The Warriors under coach Bertille St Clair remained in high spirits on the eve of the match as they got their thoughts together at the Grafton Beach Resort despite a slight worry over the readiness of Birmingham City striker Dwight Yorke and Wrexham midfielder Carlos Edwards. Both men picked up knocks in a training match against a local Tobago side on Monday and will undergo fitness tests prior to kick off. Yorke came off after a feeling of discomfort while Edwards who looked sharp throughout the outing, felt a tinge in his recently operated knee.
Despite the concerns, the rest of the team, ranked 61st by FIFA, remained raring to go and St Clair is expecting a positive showing in front of what is expected to be a packed Oval.
I think that the team has come together well and everyone is up and ready for the game. We had a late worry over Dwight and also Carlos but the rest of the team is free of injury and ready so well take it from there because we have been preparing for this match for some time now, St Clair told TTFF Media.
I still expect us to take the game to them and be as strong as we can in every department of the game, he added.
Experienced goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, who continues to be one of the main motivators behind the Warriors preferred not to divulge too much but was holding his head up confident of a gritty display.
Things have gone well going into this game almost according to plan, despite a couple of late hiccups, Hislop said. We will still go into this game with a lot of confidence. I dont think we are as good now as we will be probably for the game after this and it will be the same for the Americans. We will continue to improve but in saying that we have enough about us to get a favourable result on Wednesday.
We do have a very nice mix and hopefully we will continue to develop as it has over the past few days and weeks if you want to go back that far. And the team spirit continues to be fantastic and that in a way makes up for what some people may say is a shortage of talent as compared to the team from the last campaign, stated the Portsmouth custodian who will wear the gloves along with Crewe Alexandras Clayton Ince.
Coventry City striker Stern John remains hungry for goals and will be hoping for similar appetites from Cornell Glen and Scott Sealey while the likes of Leslie Fitzpatrick, Angus Eve, Denzil Theobald and Kenwyne Jones will need to be in top form, particularly with the question marks over Yorke and Edwards who had both looked sharp in the 7-2 win on Monday. The form of the defensive line up of Marvin Andrews, Brent Sancho, Anton Pierre, Derek King, Marlon Rojas, Keyeno Thomas and midfielder Anthony Rougier will also be a key.
The current T&T squad has 20 players and will be reduced to 18 for the game depending on the fitness of Yorke and Edwards who could also be doubtful starters.
The Americans, who had their first and only feel of the Oval venue on Tuesday, are expected to be cautious in their approach but will not back down against St Clairs men, having gotten a 2-0 result when the two teams met in June, 2001 before a 0-0 draw followed at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in the final game of the 2002 campaign.
They didnt arrive in Trinidad until just before 11pm on Monday after delaying their charter flight to await late arriving Kasey Keller from Germany via Switzerland. The 11th-ranked Americans enter with a 29-game unbeaten streak against regional rivals that dates to a loss at Costa Rica on Sept. 5, 2001.
The Oval is expected to be a scene of red with sounds coming from all corners as Petrotrin have come forward and have decided to have 2005 Panorama champions Phase II Pan Groove entertaining the fans from 1-6pm along with Woodbrook Playboyz with Soca Queen Destra and Atlantik, Maximus Dan, Bunji Garlin and other artistes carded to join the melee.
The man carrying the whistle will be Mexican Archundia Benito Armando with his fellow countrymen Delgadillo Hector and Cruz Rios Alejandro as assistants while Jamaican Captain Horace Burrell is the match commissioner.
T&T Roster:
Goalkeepers:
Clayton Ince (Crewe Alexandra), Shaka Hislop (Portsmouth).
Defenders:
Brent Sancho (Dundee FC), Marvin Andrews (Glasgow Rangers), Marlon Rojas (Real Salt Lake), Anton Pierre (Defence Force), Keyeno Thomas (San Juan Jabloteh), Derek King (Joe Public), Kenwyne Jones (Southampton), Atiba Charles (W Connection).
Midfielders:
Leslie Fitzpatrick (Atlanta Silverbacks), Denzil Theobald (Arima Morvant Fire, Angus Eve (Jabloteh), Anthony Rougier (Nanjing Yo), Carlos Edwards (Wrexham).
Forwards:
Dwight Yorke (Birmingham City), Stern John (Coventry City), Cornell Glen (Dallas FC), Nigel Pierre (San Juan Jabloteh), Scott Sealy (Kansas FC).
USA Roster:
Goalkeepers:
Joe Cannon (Colorado), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading, England), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany).
Defenders:
Chris Albright (Los Angeles), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham, England), Gregg Berhalter (Energie Cottbus, Germany), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96, Germany), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City), Cory Gibbs (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake).
Midfielders:
DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Clint Dempsey (New England), Landon Donovan (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Eddie Lewis (Preston North End, England), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado), Clint Mathis (Salt Lake), Ben Olsen (DC United).
Forwards:
Brian Ching (San Jose), Eddie Johnson (Dallas), Brian McBride (Fulham, England), Taylor Twellman (New England), Josh Wolff (Kansas City).