Soca Warriors captain Kenwyne Jones says he will soldier on for team T&T despite his critics.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference for today's Concacaf Final Round qualifier against Costa Rica, Jones who recently recovered from an injury sustained in the CFU Cup qualifier away to Martinique said he has been working hard over the past two to three weeks to able to be on point, and in the team for today's match and the rest of the campaign.
"Everyone has been settled into the camp over the last week and we have been getting down to the business of sharpening up on the things we need to, and also more or less building that team morale and team spirit. We all know it is an important game, so I believe we are in the right frame of mind."
With regards to the criticism over his play, Jones replied, "What else can you do but just saddle on and keep playing. At the end of the day as much as the crowd might be in an uproar about something, the game is 90 minutes and I have a job to do for the team, whether it might be attempting to score, assisting, defending or whatever the case. So for 90 minutes, I have to make sure that I do my job, and what happens after that happens."
Jones is calling on the crowd to come out and support the team. "I think it's very important. All over the world you can see what the crowd support can do for the home team, especially when you are in difficult situations. It helps motivate you and gives you that extra push to be able to get on top.
So I think it is important that they come out and support the team because at this stage of the competition we need to get off to a good start. We are expecting that the stadium is at capacity and the home fans are rooting for the team."
The Soca Warriors will also meet USA, Panama and Mexico in their home-and-away round-robin series at the end of which the top three teams will qualify automatically to Russia while the fourth placed will contest a continental playoff for another spot.
The Costa Ricans were due to arrive last night.Tickets are on sale at all Lotto locations at $350 (covered) and $200 (uncovered).
Teams
T&T: ?Goalkeepers: Marvin Phillip (Morvant Caledonia United), Jan-Michael Williams (Central FC), Adrian Foncette (Police FC). Defenders: Radanfah Abu Bakr, Sheldon Bateau, Yohance Marshall, Carlyle Mitchell, Aubrey David, Daneil Cyrus (W Connection), Jelani Peters (W Connection). Midfielders: Andre Boucaud, Khaleem Hyland, Neveal Hackshaw, Cordell Cato, Jomal Williams, Levi Garcia, Joevin Jones, Ataulla Guerra, Kevan George, Marcus Joseph (Central FC). Forwards: Kenwyne Jones (Central FC), Trevin Caesar, Willis Plaza (San Juan Jabloteh). Coach: Stephen Hart:
Costa Rica: Goalkeepers: Esteban Alvarado (Trabzonspor/Turkey), Keylor Navas (Real Madrid/Spain), Patrick Pemberton (Alajuelense)
Defenders: Johnny Acosta (Herediano), Francisco Calvo (Saprissa), Cristian Gamboa (Celtic/Scotland), Ronald Matarrita (New York City FC/USA), Bryan Oviedo (Everton/England), Pablo Salazar (Herediano), Jose Salvatierra (Alajuelense), Michael Uma�a (Alajuelense), Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps/Canada)
Midfielders: Randall Azofeifa (Herediano), Cristian Bola�os (Vancouver Whitecaps), Celso Borges (Deportivo La Coru�a/Spain), David Guzman (Saprissa), Bryan Ruiz (Sporting Lisbon/Portugal), Yeltsin Tejeda (Lausanne/Switzerland), Johan Venegas (Montreal Impact), Rodney Wallace (Recife/Brazil)
Forwards: Joel Campbell (Sporting Lisbon/Portugal), Ariel Rodriguez (Bangkok Glass/Thailand), Marco Urena (Brondby/Denmark) Coach: Oscar Ramirez.
Face to face
T&T vs Costa Rica in World Cup qualifiers
(Home team mentioned first)
20-2-65: Costa Rica 4 vs T&T 0
6-3-65: T&T 0 vs Costa Rica 1
31-08-96: T&T 0 vs Costa Rica 1
20-12-96: Costa Rica 2 vs T&T 1
27-03-01: Costa Rica 3 vs T&T 0
31-08-01: T&T 0 vs Costa Rica 2
30-03-05: T&T 0 vs Costa Rica 0
07-09-05: Costa Rica 2 vs T&T 0
06-06-09: T&T 2 vs Costa Rica 3
10-10-09: Costa Rica 4 vs T&T 0