The newest version of the Trinidad and Tobago National Under-17 women's team will be unveiled today against Dominica in a World Cup qualifier which will be played from 6 p.m. at Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar.
After facing Dominica today, the Soca Princesses travel there for the second leg match six days later. T&T will then face St Kitts/Nevis away on October 2 and at home three days later.
The group winners will join Jamaica, Bahamas and Guyana in a four-team Caribbean Football Union (CFU) second round round-robin series from which the top three teams will advance to the CONCACAF finals to qualify for the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
The Trinidad and Tobago team contains several members of the Under-17 squad which represented T&T at the 2010 FIFA Under-17 World Cup which Trinidad and Tobago hosted.
Among them are 16-year-old Canada-born striker Diarra Simmons, who scored the opening goal in Trinidad and Tobago's 2-1 victory over Chile in the World Cup.
Also in the line-up are Anique Walker, Victoria Swift, Khadisha Debesette, Khadidra Debesette and Zoe Swift who were all attached to the last World Cup squad.
The team has been training for several weeks and has also participated in the Lucky Bakery Women's Super League, where they headed the first round standings.
They are coached by Stephan De Four, while technical director of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation's women's programme, Norwegian Evan Pellerud, is supervisor of the squad.
"This team started at a higher level than my team," Pellerud said yesterday, referring to the 2010 squad. "They had the advantage of having a number of players from my team, so they have the advantage of having players who know how to work hard and how to prepare for a big tournament."
Pellerud credited the team's participation in the Women's Super League for bringing the players to match fitness.
"The progress for the team was slow for a while, but in the last three weeks there has been tremendous improvement," said Pellerud.
"Playing in the league has also been very helpful to the Under-17s, helping us, because we have had limited resources."
Trinidad and Tobago Women's U-17 Squad:
GOALKEEPERS—1. Sheniece David, 2. Shantel Christian
DEFENDERS—3. Marlique Asson, 4. Adeka Spence, 5. Abigail Jacob, 6. Corinna Sequea, 7. Tonietta Phillip, 8. Olivia Jaggernauth
MIDFIELDERS: 9. Victoria Swift, 10. Khadidra Debesette, 11. Marie Guissepi, 12. Shenice Garcia, 13. Darian Diaz, 14. Naomie Guerra
STRIKERS: 15. Anique Walker (Captain), 16. Diarra Simmons, 17. Khadisha Debesette, 18. Zoe Swift
Reserves: Shenice Harding, Donicia Prince.
U-17 Women begin quest for second World Cup appearance.
By Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under 17 Women’s team will begin their quest for a second consecutive appearance at a FIFA Women’s World Cup when they face Dominica in a CFU qualifying encounter at the Larry Gomes Stadium from 6pm on Wednesday.
The team, under head coach Stephan De Four, had their final practice session on Tuesday morning and is now set to begin their campaign.
De Four has five players from the previous Under 17 team which participated at the 2010 World Cup in T&T in his present squad including team captain Anique Walker, Victoria Swift, Diarra Simmons and twin sisters Khadidra and Khadisha Debesette. The latter sister will however not be in the team for Wednesday’s encounter.
“We had our final session this morning and the girls are looking pretty sharp,” De Four told TTFF Media.
“They actually can’t wait to get on the pitch and begin the competition. We’ve had some obstacles but we haven’t allowed that to deter us from being focused, we have kept pushing on and ensuring that we are ready for this competition. Our expectations are nothing less than a win tomorrow,” he added.
De Four stated that the opportunity for every player from the current squad to witness a FIFA U-17 World Cup first hand in 2010 along with the inclusion of players who were in the 2010 squad both for the World Cup and the Singapore Youth Olympic Games is a major plus.
“It’s a big incentive for the girls particularly as they were able to experience what is at stake for them. We have players who played in a World Cup as well as the youth Olympics. They are now ready to put their efforts together to qualify for another major competition.”
The T&T team has played one friendly against Barbados’ U20s which they won 4-0 and are currently atop the T&T Women’s Lucky Bakery Football League standings. Walker and Khadidra Debesette were among the scorers in the friendly win.
T&T will play Dominica there on September 20 and then face St Kitts/Nevis there on October 2 and at home three days later. The group winners will join Jamaica, Bahamas and Guyana in a four-team CFU second round round-robin series from which the top three teams will advance to the CONCACAF finals.
T&T Squad
1. Sheniece David (GK)
2. Shantel Christian (GK)
3. Marlique Asson (DEF)
4. Adeka Spence (DEF)
5. Abigail Jacob (DEF)
6. Corinna Sequea (DEF)
7. Tonietta Phillip (DEF)
8. Olivia Jaggernauth (DEF)
9. Victoria Swift (MF)
10. Khadidra Debesette
11. Marie Guissepi
12. Shenice Garcia
13. Darian Diaz
14. Naomie Guerra
15. Anique Walker (capt)
16. Diarra Simmons
17. Khadisha De Freitas
18. Zoe Swift
Reserves
Shenice Harding
Donicia Prince