Skipper Kenwyne Jones and his teammates arrived in Bridgetown at Sunday afternoon and checked in at the Accra Beach Hotel for a two-day live in camp ahead of Tuesday’s 2014 World Cup qualifier against Barbados at the National Stadium.
Head coach Otto Pfister will conduct a 45-minute training session at the match venue on Monday morning from 10 am. On Sunday evening the players had a light stretch and walk on the shores at Accra Beach.
The expectations among the players remained high as they go in search of their second straight win in the competition following Friday’s 1-0 win over Bermuda.
LA Galaxy midfielder Christopher Birchall, one of the surviving members of the 2006 World Cup squad was looking forward to his first encounter with the “Bajans”.
“I’ve never played against them before so I’m definitely looking forward to the match itself. I know that none of these Caribbean teams should be taken lightly despite where they may be on the FIFA rankings. And they are at home so they definitely will be coming all out to get a result,” Birchall told TTFF Media.
“Obviously we know that the performance on Friday was not what we are really of. When you look at this team on paper you see the talent and the experience all there.
But it will take us a couple matches to really get the chemistry going and this is why I’m also looking forward to a match like this against Barbados on Tuesday. We need to win all our matches and get to a level that will have us on par to compete against the likes of the US and Mexico,” Birchall added.
Barbados lost 2-0 to Guyana on Friday in the other group encounter and their head coach Colin Forde is hoping the hosts can bounce back and collect their set of points.
“We know that our start was disappointing and the boys want to do well in this tournament which means we have to be at our best against Trinidad on Tuesday. We have to go out and try to win this match,” said Forde who took over the team at the beginning of the year. Barbados defeated St Lucia 4-0 in late August prior to their loss to Guyana.
Norman Forde, a 34-year-old midfielder who is a former apprentice at English club Nottingham Forest is the captain of the Barbados team. The Barbados FA explained that Tuesday’s match will kick off at 4pm because of improper lighting at the Stadium.