THE Trinidad and Tobago senior men’s ffotball team arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, yesterday evening ahead of their opening League A CONCACAF Nations League match against Honduras, on Friday.
The Soca Warriors take on hosts Honduras at the Estadio Nacional Chelato Ucles, with kick-off scheduled for 10 p.m.
Following that, T&T return home to face French Guiana at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago, next week Tuesday, from 7 p.m.
The 23-man roster features a core of players who were part of T&T’s squad for the 2024 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Grenada and the Bahamas, last June.
Derek King will lead the team as caretaker coach following the recent release of Angus Eve.
A former assistant to both Eve and Stephen Hart, King, in charge of the senior squad for the first time, is looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s exciting to lead Trinidad and Tobago’s national senior team,” King stated. But he has no illusions as to the difficult task ahead, T&T having only ever accomplished a couple of 1-1 draws against the Hondurans.
But King remains optimistic of a favourable outcome. “I think it very exciting, the challenge ahead,” King said, “For us to compete with the top teams in CONCACAF we have to come places like this and get a result as well.”
With most of his players based abroad, King will have just three (training) sessions before meeting Honduras, with just one training session allowed at the match venue tomorrow.
“All the players arrived today (yesterday),” revealed King.
“(Today) we will train twice and the following day we will have a normal session, before the game on Friday.”