Trinidad and Tobago beach soccer team start camp in Paraguay

TT’s MEN beach soccer team are currently in Paraguay for a two-week residential training camp ahead of the 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship in Costa Rica.

A 17-man squad arrived in Asuncion on Saturday and is based at the Olympic Hotel. The team, under the guidance of coach Ramiro Amarelle, played their first training match against Paraguay on Tuesday, going down 7-2 at the Estadio Mundialista Los Pynandi, the venue for the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Trinidad and Tobago's goals were scored by Omni Baird and Dominic McDougall. The hosts had a hat-trick from Carlos Valentín Benítez, a double from Carlos Carballo, and one apiece from Sergio González and Yoao Rolón.

Amarelle described the first encounter as challenging but valuable to the team’s preparations.

“The first match was good for us in terms of experience. It was a first international game for some of our younger players who never played at this level before,” Amarelle told TTFA Media.

“Obviously Paraguay has a higher level than us which is okay because these are the teams we want to play and it helps immensely in getting our team to be prepared for the harder challenges. They were a World Cup host and some of their players have the experience of playing in a World Cup. The gap is not too big but obviously they have more quality and are better at making decisions and executing. We are working on these aspects of our game.

“We made some mistakes which we will work on in training and continue growing and improving on our performances in the next five matches here in Paraguay,” Amarelle added.

Both teams were due to meet again on Thursday followed by matches on May 8, 10, 11 and 13.

Prior to the camp, Amarelle said the period in the South American country would go a long way in preparing TT for the forthcoming Concacaf Championship. TT will begin their campaign against Costa Rica on May 17 in Alajuela.

“This is a great opportunity for us to be in a camp situation in foreign territory before the competition. There are a lot of aspects of a training camp that are needed and it is good that we will get to experience the environment of a venue that hosted the 2019 World Cup. It’s a big opportunity for the players,” said Amarelle, who was joined in Paraguay by fellow Spaniard, assistant coach Jaime Paz.

“The games are also very important for us as it gives us a chance to measure ourselves against an international opponent and to play these games before the competition is absolutely necessary and will boost our preparations. To everyone who played a part in getting this training camp arranged we say a huge thank you,” he added.

The 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship will take place at the Sports Complex Fedefutbol-Plycem in Costa Rica from May 17-23.

The championship also acts as the qualification tournament for Concacaf teams to the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Russia with the top two teams qualifying.

TT will also take on United States on May 18 and Turks and Caicos Islands a day later.