T&T Final Squad for World Cup 2006 Germany

           Dwight Yorke          Stern John       Russell Latapy       Carlos Edwards    Aurtis Whitley     Avery John

   Silvio Spann     Collin Samuel      Kenwyne Jones      Cyd Gray        Chris Birchall   Dennis Lawrence

 Marvin Andrews   Cornell Glenn   Densil Theobald   Brent Sancho     Atiba Charles       Evans Wise

     Ian Cox       Jason Scotland    Shaka Hislop    Clayton Ince       Kevin Jack         Anthony Wolfe

  T&T World Cup Squad 2006                                                              Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation selected the final (Soca Warriors) squad for World Cup duty in Germany and as expected coach Leo Beenhakker did not play any cards from up his sleeves. To date the Soca warrior’s success has been based on team unity and confidence hence it was only fitting that the announcement was made when the players needed confidence in view of the upcoming events at home and the fear of the dreaded distractions of the past. With four weeks left to their World Cup opener against Sweden on June 10 this seems to be the best time to coach Beenhakker in case he had to regain the focus of his players, in the event they try to make up for the Carnival they missed due to the Iceland game.

After looking at the Warriors victory over Iceland it was obvious that their # 1 asset, team chemistry, was non existent and for the team to do well they would have to regain that cohesiveness that will make them a dangerous opponent and help them to continue their success story. The team winning streak is intact and for the first time in quite some time their last two goals were engineered from the left side of the field from running plays. Now they will have to reestablishing their strategic ball possession and gain confidence to coordinate that with shutting down opposition offences.

T&T International game against Peru on May 10 at Hasely Crawford Stadium will be a good test for the Soca Warriors defense which will have to improve on their man to man marking to keep Peru off the scoreboard. They deserved the 2-0 shutout against Iceland but Peru is ranked 66 compared to Iceland 98 spot ranking. The Soca warrior’s offense should be in high gear feeding off a pumped up crowd who will be cheering for Russell Latapy on his last home appearance before his retirement from international football after the World Cup. In actuality as it turns out that, May 10, 2006 will be a double farewell game in recognition of Latapy’s retirement and the Soca Warriors team “farewell” departure for Germany via England.

With all the hype surrounding the Peru game it is recommended that the Warriors take care of business and win the game convincingly before the home crowd. Peru is by no means a push over and in 2005 they lost close games to World Cup favorite Brazil (1-0) and power house Argentina (2-0) while defeating the warriors Group B opponent, Paraguay 4-1 and tied 1-1 in the rematch.

Soca Warriors players should not have to be reminded that the festivities surrounding the game is a “send off” for the team from phase one and phase two has already begun. They should be prepared to dance to a different tune in Germany because they will be faced with a heavy dosage of Rock and Roll soccer with the likes of England and Sweden to advance.  Can these Soca Warriors Rock and Roll with the Big Boys?

Goalkeepers: Kelvin Jack (Dundee), Shaka Hislop (West Ham United), Clayton Ince (Coventry City).

Defenders: Dennis Lawrence (Wrexham) Cyd Gray (San Juan Jabloteh), Marvin Andrews (Glasgow Rangers), Brent Sancho (Gillingham), Ian Cox (Gillingham), Atiba Charles (W Connection), Avery John (New England Revolution).
Midfielders:Silvio Spann (unattached), Chris Birchall (Port Vale), Aurtis Whitley (San Juan Jabloteh), Anthony Rougier (United Petrotrin), Anthony Wolfe (San Juan Jabloteh), Densill Theobald (Falkirk), Carlos Edwards (Luton Town), Dwight Yorke (Sydney FC), Russell Latapy (Falkirk).
Forwards:
Stern John (Coventry City), Kenwyne Jones (Southampton FC), Collin Samuel (Dundee United), Jason Scotland (St Johnstone), Cornell Glen (LA Galaxy).