T&T senior men’s football team will be hoping to make it two wins in as many matches against Asian opponents in a month when they meet Thailand at the Suphanburi Municipality Stadium in Suphanburi, Thailand from 6 pm (7 am TT time) on Sunday.
On September 6, the Dennis Lawrence-coached T&T footballers blanked United Arab Emirates 2-0 in Girona, Spain with goals from Atualla Guerra and Nathan Lewis for its first win in three matches, while Thailand edged Hong Kong 1-0 on Thursday to end a run of two defeats.
Looking ahead to today’s encounter, T&T coach and former England-based defender Lawrence said he is expecting a very competitive clash between both teams.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference in Bangkok on Friday, Lawrence said, “We have obviously come here to Thailand expecting a very good competitive game.
“We understand how passionate the Thai people are about their football and from my experiences from being here, is that they have always been competitive so we expect a very tough, competitive match.
Asked what he knew about today’s opponent, Lawrence who scored the goal against Bahrain to qualify T&T to the 2006 Germany World Cup said, “Obviously we have watched a couple of their games on tape and we also had a look at the match against Hong Kong on Thursday.
“Some of the Thailand players play in the Japan J-League and looking at them, they are very organised, hard-working and you can see they play with a lot of enthusiasm.
“So as we said we are expecting an intense game and I think the intensity will be very high between both teams.
“We will also have to take the conditions into consideration because its a humid climate for our boys so we are going to have to adjust to it, but all in all, we are expecting a tough match."
T&T captain, 29-year-old midfielder Khaleem Hyland, now of Al Faisaly in the Saudia Arabian Premier League echoed the views of his coach saying: “I don’t know anything about the Thailand players but I have a couple of friends who have played over here in the last couple of years, so I kind of know what to expect from them.
“However, I do believe that once you are selected for a national team you will have a certain level of ability, fitness and experience so I think it's going to be a difficult match for us.
Former Vietnam-based defender 27-year-old Daneil Cyrus was also excitedly looking forward to the match and said, “All the guys have settled in nicely to training and we are all happy to be back together again and ready to represent our country.
Cyrus who enjoyed two seasons in the Vietnam League with Ha Noi added: “Like most of the team I don’t really know Thailand but having played in Vietnam before I know that most Asian teams play a similar type of brand.
“They are not that big but technically and tactically, they are very good so it will be a good test for us.
“They are playing at home and they will want to put on a good performance for their supporters,” said Cyrus.
Striker Shahdon Winchester said, “I believe it will be a difficult game but we are prepared physically and mentally for the challenge. They are at home and have the confidence as well from the win over Hong Kong, but I don’t see them being an unbeatable team."
Coach Lawrence will be without the key duo of Germany-based Joevin Jones and Guerra for today's clash, leaving him to choose from 18 players.
The 27-year-old Jones cited personal reasons for his late withdrawal from the team while 30-year-old Guerra was forced to miss the trip due to a US work permit issue.
The trio of utility player Alvin Jones, midfielder Leston Paul and Central American-based striker Ricardo John were the only new faces named in the squad by Lawrence from the team that faced UAE at the expense of Marcus Joseph, Kathon St Hillaire and Neveal Hackshaw.
The squad consists of nine overseas-based players with goalkeeping duo Adrian Foncette (Police FC) and Marvin Phillip (Central FC) keeping their spots alongside defenders Sheldon Bateau, Cyrus, Aubrey David, Triston Hodge, Keston Julien and Curtis Gonzales.
In midfield, Hyland is joined once again by Lewis, Kevan George, Akeem Humphrey, Duane Muckette and Jomal Williams while in the attack, John and Finland-based Winchester will more than likely compete for the lone starting spot.
Following today’s match, T&T will next face Iran in Tehran on November 15.