[UPDATED] Top TT players to miss friendlies/Gold Cup but: Lawrence remains optimistic

THE national football team will be missing a number of key players for the team’s friendly against Japan and for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, which kicks off next month.

TT head coach Dennis Lawrence made the announcement during a media conference, at the Ato Boldon Stadium,Couva, yesterday.

The national team will be without the experienced duo of Sheldon Bateau and Ataullah Guerra for the Gold Cup that will be held from June 15 to July 7.

USA will host most of the matches with some being held in Jamaica and Costa Rica. Bateau is unavailable because of personal reasons concerning his club and Guerra will not play because of “issues that are beyond our control” according to Lawrence.

TT will play Japan, on June 5, at the Toyota Stadium, in Japan, followed by another friendly against Canada on June 10, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Midfielder Joevin Jones, is expected to play at the Gold Cup, but will not play against Japan because of a US visa issue.

Talking about the unavailable players Lawrence said, “The idea was to try to get most of the Gold Cup squad to Japan. We have had a few issues with this in terms of the new US visa system where we have a couple staff members and players that are still awaiting US visas, so that has hampered some of the decision-making in terms of the squad going to Japan.”

Lawrence confirmed that Bateau and Guerra, along with others, will not attend the Gold Cup.
“I can confirm that Sheldon Bateau would not be available for selection for the Gold Cup for personal reasons in regard to commitments he had with his club.

“Also, we know that Ataullah Guerra is not going to be available for selection for the Gold Cup for issues that are beyond our control. Also, we have (defender) Aubrey David hanging on waiting on his US visa. I think his appointment has been made since March, (but) he is still waiting on his US visa because of some sort of investigation by the US embassy. These things are causing a bit of an issue.”

Team physio Dave Isaac is also having US visa issues and Rundell Winchester’s availability for the friendlies and Gold Cup is also in question due to personal reasons.

“Joevin is the other one still awaiting his US visa appointment because he is now signed for Seattle (Sounders FC), so Joevin is definitely not going to go to Japan with us as far as we stand at the moment.” Jones is expected to be available for the Gold Cup.

Lawrence is still optimistic heading into the Gold Cup, despite the challenges during preparation.

“My aspirations remain the same. I strongly believe in the group that we got. I think we have been working for a while now that the boys could go in and put in a strong performance, but it is clear now that the attitude has to be right. If at any point the attitude drops below the level that is expected then it is going to be a difficult tournament for us.”

This story was originally published with the title "Top TT players to miss Japan friendly, Gold Cup" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

TT's senior men's football team will be missing a number of key players for the upcoming friendly against Japan on June 5 and for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, which kicks off next month.

TT head coach Dennis Lawrence made the announcement at a media conference at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, today. The national team will be without the experienced duo of central defender Sheldon Bateau and midfielder Ataullah Guerra for the Gold Cup that will be held from June 15 to July 7. USA will host most of the matches with some matches being held in Jamaica and Costa Rica.

Bateau is unavailable because of personal reasons concerning his Nor­we­gian club Sarps­borg 08 FF and Guerra will not play because of "issues that are beyond our control" according to Lawrence.

TT will play Japan at the Toyota Stadium, in Japan, followed by another friendly against Canada on June 10, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Midfielder Joevin Jones, is expected to play at the Gold Cup, but will not play against Japan because of US visa issues.