Coach Ayana Russell preaches teamwork for TT U-17s Women's World Cup campaign

Trinidad and Tobago under-17 women’s football team head coach Ayana Russell has thrown out a challenge to her team to regain the country’s respect in the Concacaf region when they begin their World Cup qualifying campaign at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on January 27.

TT will host Belize, Honduras and the US Virgin Islands in group B of the first round of the Concacaf qualifiers. The top team in each of the six groups will progress to the next qualifying round, along with the two best second-placed teams. These eight teams will then join the four top-ranked teams Canada, Haiti, Mexico and the US to vie for four qualifying spots for the 2025 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco from October 17-November 8.

Russell acknowledged the challenge which lies ahead, but said the technical staff and the players are ready to face these challenges head-on. She said the team showed growth in last month’s Jewels of the Caribbean under-20 invitational tournament and are now equipped for this next step.

“We were one point away from qualifying for a Women’s World Cup (in 2014), and when I see the state of women’s football right now, we can’t get past the first round. It’s heartbreaking, so one of the questions that would have been asked to the group is what can you do to change women’s football,” Russell told TT Football Association media, in a video released on January 12.

“And that’s for players, staff and everybody involved to get that respect we had in Concacaf and the Caribbean. We were number one in the Caribbean when I played. That journey is something that inspires me and I’m trying to put back that pride, joy, passion and energy into these girls to really push to qualify for the under-17 World Cup.”

Russell said similarities have been drawn between her current national under-17 group and the group of senior players from the 2015 Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign, which included players such as Kennya Cordner, Arin King, Ahkeela Mollon and Maylee Attin-Johnson.

And while Russell noted the special talent within the national under-17 team, she said teamwork and team cohesion would ultimately be the tools needed to ensure a successful qualifying run.

“The under-17s have been improving in every single game. So for me, it’s just about taking the right steps and not just skipping steps for the (sake of a) tournament, but giving them a foundation which I think we would have built over the last two years in the high-performance programme,” Russell said.

“In this group, we have some special individuals, but we’re pushing teamwork. Every time we play as a team, it’s really something that TT should come on board with now. It’s a group of talented individuals, but the most special thing about them is that they’re starting to gel as a team.”

Russell said the team wasn’t at its best from a technical standpoint two years ago. But now, she believes they have found a formula that can bring positive results at this level.

“(Possession-based) football is for Spain and those teams who have probably been doing it since age three,” Russell said, when asked about the team’s style of play.

“We’re very athletic and a little more sound technically also. I don’t want to give away too much, but we have a very simple game model that the girls are buying into.”

Playing under the TT Red Angels banner, TT’s under-17s finished runners-up to Jamaica in the Jewels of the Caribbean tourney. As they look ahead to under-17 qualifiers which start with a clash against USVI on January 27, Russell said they have a game plan for every opponent and is confident in the team’s ability to progress to the next round.

TT’s second game will be against Belize on January 29, with their final game in round one coming against Honduras on January 31.