Young T&T forward Kadeem Corbin has a strong likelihood of making his senior international competitive debut at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which began on Tuesday night.
Corbin of T&T Pro League club St Ann's Rangers has been impressive in the build up to today's Gold Cup opener against Guatemala and head coach Stephen Hart has already made his impressions of the player known, describing him as dynamic and with a lot of potential.
Corbin, who is 19, says he intends to keep grounded throughout this busy period and perhaps for the rest of his career.
"It's good to be in the national team at my age. It's a dream really I got into the team for my first game against Curacao and it was a good experience. Now being at the Gold Cup is the biggest stage for me so far," he said.
"But I plan to keep working hard and keeping focused. A lot of things can happen when you are a footballer making progress. God is very important to me. God relaxes me. My family members have been my biggest supporters and I want to make them proud. But doing anything that can help my country will be a blessing for me," said the T&T Under-20 forward who scored a hat-trick to lead T&T to victory in the final of the Caribbean U-20 Men's Championship in 2014 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
"My favourite player is Mario Balotelli and my favourite team is Barcelona. I try to take pattern from them. I don't know what the future will bring but I know I want to play at a high level and maybe in two years I can be playing in Europe."
Shaka pushes 'Warriors'to dig deep
Former national goalkeeper Shaka Hislop wants the Soca Warriors to pull out all the stops in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Hislop, who saved at the 2001 CONCACAF Gold Cup under Rene Simoes, sees the tournament as a main stage for teams in the region outside of the World Cup and believes it could be critical towards this country's road towards regaining some respect in the region and beyond.
"There is a lot that has as happened not just with T&T but in world football in general. My hope is that it's a clean slate for us to reinvent to refine and refocus our football. That is my greatest hope. As we set off on another World Cup campaign and Gold Cup I think it's a perfect opportunity for us to say this is who we are and this is who we will be going forward," Hislop said.
Regarding T&T's Gold Cup campaign specifically, the ESPN football pundit said, "There is an opportunity to write their names in history. We've shown in the past that we can do well in this tournament. I saw the team in the last Gold Cup and I think they were able to put on a performance that surprised many and it was a good sign for us. This time around, with everything that has happened, hopefully we can give a strong showing again and push on from here."
Williams eagerto show his worth
Defender Mekeil Williams will head off to Guatemala to continue his club career once this country's run at the CONCACAF Gold Cup ends later this month.
Having already played professionally in Denmark and Poland in the past, the W Connection player wants to keep adding experience to his name.
"It's a good move for me at this time but I really want to keep pushing myself to get back into Europe. I think the stage is where a lot of players want to be on and I've had a chance to experience it already. Hopefully now with the time I am getting now with the senior team, it can help me move on to a higher level," Williams said.
He wants to make his father and other family members look on proudly at his achievements.
"I'm trying to make them feel satisfied that I can reach somewhere. My dad always wanted to play the game but he didn't get opportunities like me and now he's living this chance through me so I have to keep setting goals and pushing myself to achieve them."
Williams played for T&T at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt and wants to return to the World Cup stage alongside some of his longtime teammates who made the trip to the Pyramids with him like Kevin Molino, Aubrey David, Daneil Cyrus, Sheldon Bateau and others.
"Of course I have dreams to play in another World Cup. We have the qualifiers for Russia this year and I think if I can keep my level up and stay injury free then I would play a part in helping the country get to another World Cup," Williams said.
n Shaun Fuentes is the Director of Communications for the TTFA. shaunfuentes@yahoo.com
