Daniel Phillips eager to contribute to TT's World Cup drive

NATIONAL men's football team newcomer Daniel Phillips is excited to be involved in TT's 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and wants to emulate his relative Ian Cox, who was a member of the Soca Warriors' 2006 FIFA World Cup squad in Germany.

Phillips is in Dominican Republic preparing for TT's World Cup qualifier against Guyana on Thursday. Following Thursday's match TT will travel to Puerto Rico to play that country on March 28.

Head coach Terry Fenwick welcomed Phillips, who plays for Watford FC, into the camp as he trained for the first time on Friday at the Pan American Stadium. Also joining was fellow English-born midfielder Andre Boucaud.

Phillips said he was keen to wear the TT shirt and is hoping to make a key contribution to the team’s efforts.

“It’s been a long time coming and I’m just very happy to be here. Everyone has welcomed me really nicely and I’m just happy to get to work."

Explaining how he is eligible to play for TT, Phillips said, "My dad was born and raised in Trinidad. My mum was born in England, but raised in Trinidad from a very young age...I have (been to Trinidad before), I just have not been since 2011."

Phillips added, "My dad's cousin is Ian Cox who is a (former) international for TT and someone that has spoken to me and given me a lot of advice about coming and playing for them. I want to be in his footsteps. I know he went to the World Cup and it is something I want to do as well."

Phillips said he used to watch former TT footballer Kenwyne Jones in the English Premiership and is aware of what Dwight Yorke accomplished with Manchester United.

"I have been playing football from as long as I could remember and it was always something I was passionate about. My parents allowed me to pursue a career in it. So far it has been really good to me and my ambition is to go as far as possible playing in the World Cup with Trinidad (and) playing in the biggest international competitions as well."

Phillips is not feeling pressured joining the TT squad for such an important match. “I want to play in the hardest, most important games straight away. I’m hoping to just bring a level of quality and just push everyone else and they will push me as well. Based of the first session (on Friday) I was really impressed. Everyone gets on really well, it is a good team spirit and when it was time to train everyone was really high intensity right from the start to the finish and I that was impressive,” the 20-year-old added.

Meanwhile, a training match which was tentatively scheduled for Saturday morning between TT and local Dominican Republic club Atletico Pantoja, was cancelled in the best interest of the members of the contingent, due to a breach in the standard covid19 protocols.

A TT Football Association media release said, "The match, which was arranged to be played at the club’s home base, was abandoned on the advice of TT team doctor Akash Dhanai, after a thorough assessment of the covid19 tests undergone by the Pantoja players was determined to fall short of the TT Football Associations’s and FIFA’s medical standards. In this regard, the decision was taken to cancel the match to ensure that the safety of TT players and staff would not have been compromised ahead of next Thursday’s Concacaf World Cup qualifier against Guyana. All members of the TT team have been following strict covid19 regulations in keeping with FIFA and Concacaf’s international match protocols since the commencement of a bio-secure bubble at the Home of Football in Couva on March 16."

Fenwick and his staff later conducted a training session with the team in the afternoon period.

In related news, it has been confirmed that there will be no spectators at Thursday’s World Cup qualifier at the Pan American Stadium, which is carded to kick off at 7 pm (TT time) and the same will apply to the qualifier hosted by Puerto Rico.

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"Daniel Phillips eager to contribute to TT’s World Cup drive"

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