T&T TO FACE GUADELOUPE IN GOLD CUP PRELIMS
T&T TO FACE GUADELOUPE IN GOLD CUP PRELIMS
Trinidad and Tobago men’s senior football team head coach Angus Eve said his coaching staff will start doing their homework immediately after the draw for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup qualification tournament was held on Friday.
T&T and 11 other teams will compete for the final three spots in the Gold Cup.
The qualification tournament will be held from June 16 to 20 at DRV PNK Stadium, Ft Lauderdale, Florida in the US. The Gold Cup will be played from June 24 to July 16 in the US and Canada.
CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president, Victor Montagliani, participate in the event, alongside the teams’ head coaches and important guests inclusive of the quartet of CONCACAF legends in former men’s players Jared Borgetti of Mexico, Carlos Pavon of Honduras, Cobi Jones of the USA, and former women’s player Tashana Vincent of Jamaica who helped with the event by serving as Draw Assistants.
Should 104th-FIFA T&T manage to get past unraked Guadeloupe whom they have an even record of two wins, three draws, and two losses against in their first-round match, then they next face the winner of the Jamaal Shabbaz-coached Guyana, ranked 170th versus the 175th-ranked Grenada first-round clash for a spot in Group D of the 16-nation main draw with top-seeded Canada, ranked 47th in the world, 116th-ranked Guatemala, and Cuba, ranked 165th.
Speaking following the draw, former national captain Eve said, “We would have pulled the hardest team out of the possible six teams we could play, but its competition football and you have to go with the positive mindset and play whoever team that you draw at that point in time”
When we look at the other part of the draw and the possibility of our next opponent it will be between Grenada and Guyana, who is coached by our own Jamaal Shabbaz and then if we get past that the group in the main draw (Canada, Cuba and Guatemala) is a good one.
Looking ahead to the preliminary qualifiers Eve added, “T&T’s most capped player said ‘We have to do our work from day one, but it will be a little bit difficult in terms of our preparations as we may only have our players two days before the first match to prepare. In saying that we will be doing our homework and preparation firstly for the Guadeloupe match as well as some preparation for Guyana, or Grenada,” stated Eve.
