T&T's all-time goal-scorer Kevon "Showtime" Woodley will carry the hopes of an early T&T victory from 6 pm Tuesday evening when the national unit faces the USA in its opening match of the Concacaf Men's Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifiers at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility in Nassau, Bahamas.
The T&T team had its first workout at the game facility yesterday, and they took the opportunity to prepare ahead of Tuesday's encounter. The last time the teams met was in 2023 when the men in red, white and black lost 5-0.
Yesterday, national coach Chado Appoo said his charges are excited and eager to begin but they are aware it would be a challenge against the Concacaf region's top team.
"They're all excited and buzzing to get going. We will have our first official training session at the facility later today (yesterday) so we can't wait for that to fine-tune a couple of things ahead of the game against USA, the opener. Of course, it would be a challenging game as the USA is one of the top-ranked teams in the region, but those are the kind of games that we like to play," Appoo said.
T&T has always emerged from the group stages but has struggled to get past the quarterfinals. However, with Concacaf restructuring the format of the tournament this year to feature only the top eight teams in the region, Appoo's men can break that jinx by being one of the top two teams to progress from the group which would put them straight into the semifinal round.
Appoo explained the new format has not made it less difficult for his charges, though it is an easier route.
He believes that the blend of players in the team will increase the country's chances of a top-two finish.
"We have Kevon Woodley returning to the squad, he missed the last campaign. He is our all-time leading goalscorer and of course, we know what quality he brings and what he can add. We have some other guys in like Zane Coker and the skipper Jesse Bailey. And then we have a couple of guys who have been around for some years now, who also made it into this final squad so the likes of Kairon Joseph and Jayson 'Mouse' Joseph who are active in the Pro League back home," Appoo said.
"Then we have other guys who currently play in the Pro League back home, who over the years have shown their ability to adapt to the sand version of the game, such as Jordan Riley, Kevon Williams and so on."
T&T will next face Panama Wednesday at the same venue from 6 pm and will close off their campaign against the host nation on Thursday at 8 pm.
T&T TEAM
GOALKEEPERS: Zane Coker, Jabari Gray
FIXED/DEFENCE: Jesse Bailey, Kairon Joseph, Anderson Peters
WING/MID: Shane Hospedales, Kevon Williams, Jordan Riley, Jayson Joseph
PIVOT/FORWARD: Kevon Woodley, Kareem Perry, Akinola Gregory