THE TRINIDAD and Tobago women’s football team recorded a win and a loss in their warm-up matches earlier this week ahead of their opening Concacaf W Championship clash against reigning Olympic champions Canada.
The match kicks off on Tuesday from 10 pm (T&T time) at the Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe, Mexico.
On Sunday, the Women Warriors defeated University of Monterrey, Mexico 1-0, courtesy a goal from Tori Paul, but fell 2-0 to Mexican top-flight club CF Monterrey on Thursday.
T&T coach Kenwyne Jones said the warm-ups should have given the team ample time to acclimatise to Mexican conditions ahead of Tuesday’s Group B clash against Canada.
“Like everything else, it’s been up and down. It’s nothing that we haven’t expected.
"It’s our seventh day here and we ended with an exercise. So we expect the players now to be, after the exercise, fully adapted and us looking much stronger going forward into the tournament,” Jones said.
The T&T coach affirmed their second warm-up match was a “tough one for us physically,” playing in hot conditions.
“I think at the time we played, with the heat and everything else – especially in the first half, I think we were a bit slow, a bit sluggish. We picked things up in the second half, which was good to see.
“But all in all, it was a very good exercise for us today and we’re going to recover and get back down to training to get ready for the tournament.”
Also in the group are Costa Rica and Panama. Group A consists of reigning FIFA Women’s World Cup and CWC champions USA, Mexico, Jamaica and Haiti.
Up against FIFA’s number-six-ranked Canada, Jones, the former T&T men's team captain, said it will be an uphill task but the T&T team plans to give it their all.
“We have to make sure that we are on point for every game that we play. Not to mention we’re playing Canada in the first game. We do expect a very tough fight because they’re a very good team. But we are going to get down to business and continue to prepare as we did.
“We will continue to work on team shape, offensively and defensively, what we do in transition, our set pieces like any other coach preparing for the tournament.”
After Tuesday's opener, T&T then play Costa Rica on Friday and Panama on Monday. Both matches start at 7pm (T&T time).
At the end of round-robin play, the top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals and in doing so, qualify directly for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The third-placed teams in each group will qualify for a 2023 World Cup intercontinental playoff.
T&T Final Team
Goalkeepers - Kimika Forbes. Klil Keshwar, Tenesha Palmer
Defenders - Liana Hinds, Rhea Belgrave, Victoria Swift, Chelsi Jadoo, Shaunalee Govia, Shadi Cecily Stoute, Lauryn Hutchinson
Midfielders - Amaya Ellis, Asha James, Chelcy Ralph, Karyn Forbes (captain), Kedie Johnson, Sarah De Gannes, Tori Paul
Forwards - Maya Matouk, Maria-Frances Serrant, Raenah Campbell, Jolie St Louis, Cayla McFarlane, Brianna Austin
SOURCE: T&T Newsday