Anton Cornelius, Assistant Coach of Trinidad and Tobago’s football team affectionately known as the “Soca Warriors” worldwide says his team is going all out for a victory over the home side in the crucial World Cup qualifying match at the Providence Stadium tomorrow.
The Trinidad side that landed in the country yesterday morning had an intense two-hour training session at the Eve Leary ground in the afternoon under the close watch of Cornelius, other technical staff, and their experienced German coach Otto Pfister, who is known for taking Saudi Arabia and Togo to the 1998 and 2006 World Cups.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport after the team’s session Cornelius shared his thoughts on what he expects his side to accomplish in tomorrow’s game in which the boys from the twin island republic cannot afford to lose.
“The session today was very good and productive, it was a continuation of the positive sessions we have been having in Trinidad over the last four days and we are very happy with the conditioning of our players at the moment,” Cornelius said.
The assistant coach who in his playing days scored against Guyana the last time the two nations met in a 1990 World Cup qualifying match in 1998 noted that the team views tomorrow’s clash on the same level of their now famous 2006 World Cup qualifier versus Bahrain.
“This game carries the same importance as the Bahrain game most definitely and all the players who played in that game like Chris Birchall (LA Galaxy mid-fielder) for example, believe that. Just like how winning that game got us to the World Cup (2006 World Cup), I am confident a win here will eventually see us getting to the next World Cup (2014),” said Cornelius confidently.
When asked how much information he and his staff had on the Guyana players during the current qualifying campaign, he said that his troops are mainly concerned about playing the best football they can play tomorrow evening.
“We know a couple of their players well that play in Trinidad, but not their English-based players. However, we are mainly concerned about being on top of the game, this at times during this campaign has eluded us, but I’m confident given the importance of this encounter, the players will step up and we will be victorious in this World Cup qualifier.”
