Warrior profile: Noah Powder – Added versatility for Trinidad and Tobago

US-born Trinidad and Tobago men’s footballer Noah Powder is back in coach Angus Eve’s Soca Warriors setup after a seven-month absence from the national squad. With the return of the 24-year-old Northern Colorado Hailstorm player, Eve has a fighter and a player whose versatility brings a plethora of options for the TT head coach.

Since making his debut under coach Terry Fenwick in a heavy 7-0 friendly loss to the US in February 2021, Powder has accumulated a total of 16 caps for TT and has played in at least five positions. A defensive-minded player by trade, Powder has played in defensive midfield for TT and has also had his foray in the attacking midfield and wide positions as well.

During TT’s Concacaf Nations League B 22/23 campaign, Powder showed the TT public and the visiting St and the Grenadines team his full repertoire as he scored a double in the Soca Warriors’ 4-1 victory at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on June 13, 2022. Playing on the left wing in a three-man midfield which included Judah Garcia and Duane Muckette, Powder put the sword to SVG with his only senior international goals to date.

On that night, Powder vowed to put it all on the line for the red, white and black.

“Coach (Angus Eve) has a lot of confidence in me, so wherever I play I’ll give 100 per cent for the country. It’s honestly an honour to play for this country, so if I’m playing left back, right back or goalkeeper it doesn’t matter.”

Following his exploits against SVG, Powder played in friendlies versus Tajikistan and Jamaica in December 2022 and March 2023 respectively. He also featured for the TT team in competitive action in March as they closed off their Nations League B campaign with matches against the Bahamas and Nicaragua. TT eventually finished behind Nicaragua in the group, but the Central American team was punished by Concacaf for their use of an illegal player – thus elevating TT to the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup and the ongoing 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League A campaign.

Noah and his 22-year-old brother Samory Powder were both selected in TT’s 60-man provisional squad ahead of the 2023 Gold Cup. Neither was picked in the final squad though. Noah also missed out as TT rattled off two wins over Curacao (1-0) and El Salvador (3-2) to top their Nations League A group with two more matches to go. TT will host Guatemala at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday before closing off the group with an away outing to Curacao on October 17.

Though only 24, Noah does bring a wealth of experience as he has featured in Major League Soccer (MLS) with Real Salt Lake City and has also represented several teams in the United Soccer League (USL). Although he missed out on TT’s Gold Cup campaign this year, Noah did play all three matches at the 2021 Gold Cup in Eve’s first competitive tournament as TT head coach.

Noah, who qualifies to play for TT through his father, was also a consistent player for TT at the youth level as he played for both the under-17 and under-20 teams. In 2015, Noah captained TT’s under-17 team – netting two goals in the process. He then turned down the opportunity to represent the US a couple of years later as he played for TT at the Concacaf men’s under-20 championship in 2017.

Six years later, Powder has the chance to show his worth and versatility to the TT football fans once more.