Has a lesson been learnt?
The Trinidad and Tobago senior national women’s football team are preparing for World Cup qualification and need international warm-up matches.
Will the senior Soca Princesses receive the support needed for a successful World Cup run, or go a similar route to the national Under-20 team, which fell at the final hurdle, within grasp of achieving their goal?
It is just over 70 days and counting to the start of what may be an historic run by the Trinidad and Tobago senior national women’s team to their first-ever qualification for a FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The expansion of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup to 24 teams has given the region an extra automatic qualifying spot. And as hosts, top-10 world-ranked Canada does not have to qualify. It gives teams like T&T a unique opportunity to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
“We are due to open Caribbean qualifying in the week of April 7-14,” said head coach Marlon Charles. “We were hoping to make a bid to host the CONCACAF leg of the qualifiers, but Mexico beat us to it. Hosting would have given us home advantage and also let people get to see the progress of these girls, and get behind the team.”
The only Caribbean team ranked top-50 in the world, T&T will be favoured to advance past the two early Caribbean rounds wherever they are played, before meeting the CONCACAF contenders, who will battle for three automatic World Cup spots, and an additional playoff spot against a third-placed South American finisher.
“USA will qualify automatically. But then, it’s a toss-up between Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and the rest, for two and a half spots. The team that finishes fourth in CONCACAF still gets a chance of a playoff.
This is a fantastic opportunity for teams in the region,” Charles said.
Over the Christmas holidays, much of the T&T team assembled, including the foreign-based players from college in the United States. Right back Ria Belgrave, and Tobago sisters Karen “Baby” Forbes and goalie Kamika Forbes are among those that have since returned to school, leaving the home-based players to work hard at getting fit, under the guidance of trainer Dexter Thomas, a seaman in the Coast Guard.
Among those regularly present at sessions are Tasha St Louis, Maylee Attin-Johnson, Tamar Watson, Anastasia Prescott, Ayanna Russell, Janine Superville, Kennya Cordner, Afiyah Mathias, Patrice Superville, Dernell Mascall, and prolific scorer Jo-Marie Lewis.
Anique Walker, the Debesette twins, Khadisha and Khadidra, and other members of the Under-20 squad may also be given the chance to vie for selection. Solid Canadian defender Arin King and USA-based Danielle Blair will likely hook up with the team prior to the CONCACAF leg. But missing are former professional Ahkeela Mollon, hard-running Tobago striker Candice Edwards, and solid right back Katrina Meyer. Striker Mariah Shade, meanwhile, is doing well at college in the USA.
The status of 26-year-old Edwards is uncertain despite team efforts to contact her, and Meyer hasn’t played since being injured a couple years ago. Meanwhile, the very gifted Mollon has had past issues with team management.
“She promise to join us in January...and it’s January now,” Charles said of Mollon’s status. “As far as I am concerned, past issues are past. I am about putting the best Trinidad and Tobago national team together. My only concern is a player’s willingness to contribute to the team.”
Over the past few weeks, the Soca Princesses have been hard at work on the training ground of the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. Coaches have split the duties. Sometimes, Charles is in charge, while former Joe Public coach Rajesh Lachoo and T&T technical director Anton Corneal have also done work with the team. They played the national Under-20 women in a couple of scrimmages, and a couple weeks ago veteran playmaker Tasha St Louis was seen smashing a bullet against an over-40 men’s team.
Charles said the next step would be to re-assemble the entire team and get them playing together, possibly in international matches.
“We would like to have a camp somewhere in North or South Carolina (USA). That way we can get all our players together,” Charles said. “We can train together and have some matches.
Although we may know the girls we think will be involved in the campaign, such a camp will also give other players, and maybe those with Trinidad and Tobago roots, a final chance for selection. We might just spot someone we might not have considered.”