Canadian-born striker Malcolm Shaw is the lone uncapped player in T&T coach Angus Eve’s final 23-man roster for the Concacaf Gold Cup which begins today with preliminary first-round playoffs in Florida, USA.
Following Sunday’s 1-0 friendly international win over Guatemala at Subaru Park, Chester, Pennsylvania, via a 53rd-minute penalty from Alvin Jones, the 52-year-old said his job of selecting his final squad from 60 players named in the preliminary squad was made difficult. T&T will compete in Group A with defending champions and host USA, Jamaica and a qualifier.
After deliberating with the rest of his technical staff which includes assistant coaches Reynold Carrington, and Derek King, and goalkeeper coach Clayton Ince along with manager Richard Piper, Eve name Shaw, 27, of Canadian Premier League strugglers Atlético Ottawa along with striker Kadeem Corbin of Terminix La Horquetta Rangers, winger Real Gill of Tiger Tanks Club Sando, Kareem Moses (FF Jaro/Finland), San Antonio FC’s Shannon Gomez, USA-based Kaile Auvray (Sporting Kansas), and locally-based goalkeeper Denzil Smith of W Connection to their first Gold Cup team.
Commenting on his team, Eve first paid homage to the guys who helped the team qualify but just missed out on the final team selection.
He said, “The guys who got us here like Reon Moore, Justin Garcia, Josiah Trimmingham, John-Paul Rochford, and Duane Muckette, I just would like to say that they are part of the team, but unfortunately you can only pick 23 at this point, and I also want to make mention of Nathaniel James, as well.”
With regards to his 23-man team, a confident Eve said, “Looking at the squad that we have here we just thought this group was the best group for us to go forward with at this point.”
The rest of the team includes veteran AC Port-of-Spain goalkeeper Marvin Phillip, 38, with 91 appearances to his name; 28-year-old Alvin Jones, who is seven games short of 50 appearances; Daniel Phillips (St Johnston/Scotland), Sheldon Bateau (SK Beveren/Belgium), 87-time capped Police FC’s Joevin Jones, Kevin Molino of US Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, Levi Garcia, who is coming off a Greek League and Cup double with AEK Athens, Leland Archer (Charleston Battery/USA), Nicklas Frenderup (Ranheim/Norway), Aubrey David (SD Aucas/Ecuador), Ryan Telfer (Miami FC/USA), Tristan Hodge (Hartford Athletic/USA), Molik Khan (Minnesota United/USA), Neveal Hackshaw (Oakland Roots/USA), Ajani Fortune (Atlanta United/USA), and Andre Rampersad (HFX Wanderers/Canada).
Eve said, “Defensively we have been very good as a team and no matter what group we put on the pitch, because yes I’m pragmatic, that’s my style, and I know I’m not Pep Guardiola (Manchester City coach), but the style is working and we have played six games for the season, and only received one goal so far, So the team was picked with that in mind. We have a nice balance of youth, and we have some nice young players, who played Under-20 and have now graduated with a good blend of senior players, and some in-between players who we think will augur well for us going forward.”
On Monday night, Eve and T&T also got some welcomed news that their protest against Nicaraguan who used an eligible player during the 2022 Concacaf Nations League matches was successful.
Based on the decision, T&T now replaces Nicaragua in Group A of the Concacaf Gold Cup and will no longer be required to compete in the Gold Cup preliminary round today versus Guadeloupe, and will now kick off its campaign on June 25, at DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale against a qualifier the winner of the ties between Curacao/St Kitts and Nevis winner and the French Guiana/Sint Maarten winner from 3.30 pm.
Three days later, T&T faces Jamaica at City Park, St Louis at 6.30 pm before ending round-robin play against USA on July 2 at the Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte at 7 pm.
The decision by, Concacaf also meant T&T, by virtue of being the team with the best second-place overall finish of all Concacaf Nations League B teams in the 2022/2023 competition, will replace Nicaragua in the 2023/2024 Concacaf Nations League A and will contest Group A alongside Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Martinique, and Curacao.
Success in League A of the 2023/2024 Concacaf Nations League, which begins in September 2023, earns a team qualification to the 2024 Copa America, which will be held in the USA.
Antigua and Barbuda now meet the ‘Gwada Boys’ today with the winner to face the winner of the Guyana/Grenada clash for a spot in Group D alongside top-seeded Canada, Guatemala, and Cuba.
The preliminary round one fixtures between Martinique and St Lucia and Curacao and St Kitts and Nevis will also take place today in Fort Lauderdale from 7 pm and 9 pm, respectively.