King tells players: ‘Let’s die for our country’
Senior Multimedia Reporter
walter.alibey@guardian.co.tt
National coach Derek King is showing his desire to get maximum points in today’s CONCACAF Nations League Group B encounter against Cuba at the Estadio Antonio Maceo in Santiago, Cuba, at 4 pm, by instructing his players to die for their country.
His call signalled the desperation of the Soca Warriors to eke out three points in this afternoon’s match, after which the teams will meet for a second time on October 14 at the Dwight Yorke Stadium to complete the four-match Swiss playoff format, which will send the top two teams through to the next round.
The Soca Warriors have just one point from two matches, courtesy of a loss to Honduras 4-0 and a goalless tie with French Guiana, while the Cubans have two from drawn matches against Nicaragua (1-1) and Jamaica (0-0). These results mean that both will have to win the coming two matches.
After the team’s final session yesterday, King said his charges were physically and mentally ready for the task at hand, knowing the importance of getting the three points.
“As I told them, we have to go out there and give it our all. Let us go out there and die for our country; let’s win our individual battles,” King said.
His call seemed to have resonated well with his players, with T&T Football Association president Kieron Edwards, who looked on at the session, describing the players as professional in their movement and approach during training.
King started training more than two weeks ago with an all-local squad for strength and conditioning. That squad saw the return of midfielder Kevin Molino, who refused to play under former coach Angus Eve, and Joevin Jones, who himself could not command a place in Eve’s team, mostly due to injuries.
King said, then he had one main concern, “We want them to play at an international level, and our fitness was one of our main problems, and the guys knew that, so we sat and worked on them physically and mentally, and the guys, particularly the senior ones that we brought into the team, I had a discussion with them on the importance of bringing them back, which was to set good examples,” King explained.
Describing Cuba as a good team that will fight to the end, particularly with players plying their trade in Guatemalan and Costa Rican Leagues, King also spelled out the key for his team to come away with a win, saying, “Going into the game we will have to defend well; we will have to defend as a team, a unit, and when we have ball possession we push high and wide and put the ball down and play. I told the guys just play football because we can play football.”
Meanwhile, Molino’s return to the national setup after his retirement in September 2023 is aimed at adding value. “I had a conversation with the president, and he opened the doors for me to come back, and I took the opportunity to come back and add value to the team.”
“When you look at T&T at the moment, we need something to bring joy to the people, so for me, coming back and trying to go to a World Cup is the ideal thing, and not just the World Cup, because we have two important games coming up, so I am just looking forward, together with the group, to hopefully get a win and bring joy to people’s faces,’ Molino concluded.
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