Futsal coach says Trinidad and Tobago ready to give their all at World Cup qualifiers

TT’s men’s national futsal team left these shores on Monday morning for San Jose, Costa Rica for a residential training camp ahead of the 2021 Concacaf World Cup Futsal Championship in Guatemala City, next month.

Head coach Constantine Konstin finalised a 14-man squad after weeks of preparations at the International School of Port of Spain indoor gymnasium. The 14 players underwent their medical screening, according to Concacaf specifications, last week at Healthnet Caribbean Ltd and were declared medically fit for the competition. The full contingent also received their covid19 PCR tests and got cleared to travel.

Konstin told TT Footballl Association media, “This all started February 2020 when we had our first tryouts, then in the middle of March of 2020 we got the selection down to 35 players. And in March of 2021 we got the team down to 25. Today I am proud to say that we selected our 14-man team squad that will be travelling to Costa Rica and then to Guatemala to contest the qualification for the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania. We’ll have a few days in Costa Rica with two matches which we will maximise in terms of using the both exercises to our advantage ahead of the competition.”

Konstin thanked all who were instrumental in preparations leading up to the camp in Costa Rica.

“It’s been an incredible journey to get to this point but I am very proud of the final squad, all the participants, staff and teams we had practice games with especially the Venezuelan futsal community in TT, as well as the futsal association, 361, Captain Basil from Defence force, the Defence Force club, Club Sando and of course our TTFA normalization committee and staff which have offered their support throughout,” Konstin said.

On his selection, which includes a combination of some TT senior men’s team players as well as past futsal team members, Konstin added, “The 14 players that we have selected come with an international pedigree with players like Cummings, Plaza, George and Sean De Silva. Then we have players who are young, but full of spirit and fire like Che Benny and Mark Ramdeen.

“We’ve also got some tough players like Defence Force’s Aaron Lester, King, Ollivierra and the big man Quintero and the goalkeepers Kern and Andre. These players are ready to give their all for their country and families,” Konstin added.

TT are in Group A with hosts Guatemala and Dominican Republic. TT will face Dominican Republic on May 4 and Guatemala on May 5.

The tournament was originally slated for 16 teams split into four groups of four teams, but after the withdrawals of French Guiana, Martinique and Guadeloupe the competition will now feature 13 teams.

Additionally, all matches will now be played at the Domo Polideportivo, a venue that has a long history of hosting international futsal competitions, including the 2000 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

The group stage will take place between May 3 and 5. After round-robin play, the first and second place finishers in each group will advance to the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinal matches will be played on May 7, with the four winners qualifying for the semifinals of this competition and earning a spot in the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021. The semifinals and final will take place May 8 and 9, respectively. Local fans can view the tournament on Flow Sports.

The FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021 takes place from September 12 to October 6.

TT SQUAD

Che Benny (Central FC/winger), Dylon King (Defence Force/fixed defender), Darius Ollivierra (Defence Force/forward), Willis Plaza (forward), Andre Marchan (Defence Force/goalkeeper), Adrian Welch (Defence Force/winger), Jameel Neptune (Central FC/winger), Mark Ramdeen (winger), Sean De Silva (winger), Aaron Lester (Defence Force/fixed defender), Keston George (La Horquetta Rangers/winger), Dwight Quintero (Defence Force/forward), Keron Cummings (La Horquetta Rangers/winger), Kern Caesar (goalkeeper)

STAFF

Constantine Konstin (head coach), Paul Decle (assistant coach), Dunstan Williams (goalkeeper coach), Mark Lewis (trainer), Roger Ryan (physio), Alexandria Olton (sport psychologist/safety hygiene officer), Dr Alex Harripersad (team doctor), Nigel Roberts (manager)

GROUPS

Group A: Guatemala, TT, Dominican Republic

Group B: Panama, Mexico, Suriname

Group C: Costa Rica, Canada, Haiti

Group D: Cuba, United States, El Salvador, Nicaragua