Eight foreign players selected to Soca Warriors' U17 team for Concacaf Champs

Trinidad and Tobago’s Under-17 team leave for Costa Rica on February 5 to begin their 2025 Concacaf U17 Men’s Qualifiers Group B campaign.

Eight foreign nationals have been included in the 23-man squad which face Guyana in TT’s opening clash at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto on February 7. Two days later, they meet British Virgin Islands, St Maarten on February 13 and hosts Costa Rica on February 16.

Among them are US-based Inter Miami Academy players and siblings Chaz (left back) and Levi Williams (goalkeeper) and Quinton John (defender). Florida-based Clearwater Chargers’ Talan Mc Millan (right wing back) was also selected alongside New England Revolution’s Sheridan Mc Nish (centre back).

TSR Academy (USA) striker Timothy Valentine, Vancouver FC (Canada) midfielder Dominic Joseph and Eastbourne United (UK) forward Josiah Kallicharan were also selected by head coach Sean Cooper.

Cooper said the squad had been training together for the past eight weeks. They were able to play some local practice matches against QPCC, Defence Force’s tier two team, Police FC, AC Port of Spain and Club Sando.

However, he was unable to secure any pre-tournament matches with South or Central American opposition, and believes playing against their style of football, would have better equipped his team for the U17 tourney.

“It’s basically a fresh team, with six to eight survivors from the last TT U15 team,” he said.

On his preparations in the lead-up to the Concacaf competition, Cooper described it as “trying”.

“We had a number of plans that didn’t materialise. We wanted those games to really get us prepared for the Central American game against Costa Rica. We had a couple engagements cancelled because of one reason or the other, which we have no control over.”

“But hence the reason we had those camps and brought in the boys and tried to relate what we would have expected in Costa Rica coming up, in terms of playing one day, resting the next, then playing the next day.”

“It’s a different situation what those boys are accustomed to, especially those playing in the colleges’ league who play on a Wednesday and Saturday. You have to get them prepared both physically and mentally to play two games in three days. But we did what we had to do.”

Cooper would have liked to arrive in Costa Rica a couple days earlier for them to get some games in, in that environment. Despite that, Cooper and his troops head into the U17 championships with one thing on their mind.

“The game plan is to win. Whatever system or tactics we use it will come as we go along. We’ll have a plan A, plan B as the game goes along and we’ll play in the moments of the game. We these moments come up, we’ll have our game model to suit.”

The new Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers consist of a single round, in which the participating 35 nations are split into eight groups. After round-robin play, where each team will play against each team in its group once, the eight group winners qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Group F matches, featuring USA, Cuba, St Kitts and Nevis and US Virgin Islands, will also be contested in Costa Rica.

Group A (Bermuda, Canada, Curacao, Anguilla, Turks & Caicos) kicks off in Bermuda, Group C (Mexico, Nicaragua, Barbados, Belize, Dominica) in Mexico and Group D (Honduras, Puerto Rico, Bonaire, St Martin) in Honduras.

Group E (Guatemala, Haiti, Antigua & Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines) and Group H (Jamaica, El Salvador, St Lucia, Cayman Islands) will be held in Guatemala while Group G (Panama, Dominican Republic, Aruba, Grenada) compete in Panama.

TT U17 Concacaf Championship team

Goalkeepers: Levi Williams (Inter Miami/USA), Necose Moore (Chaguanas North Secondary), Mikhail Clement (Naparima College/Cox Coaching School)

Defenders: Sheridan McNish (New England Revolution/USA), Jaydon Caprietta (Naparima College/Cox Coaching School), Jimally Renne (Presentation College San Fernando/Point Fortin Youth Academy), Chaz Williams, Quinton John (both Inter Miami/USA), Adam Pierre (St Benedict’s College/Point Fortin Civic)

Midfielders: Eran McLeod (St Mary’s College/San Juan Jabloteh), Dominic Joseph (Vancouver Whitecaps/Canada), Criston Gomez (Arima North Secondary/QPCC FC), Nikosi Foncette (Presentation College San Fernando/Crowne Trace FC), Seth Hadeed (Fatima College/QPCC FC), Dominic Joseph (Vancouver Whitecaps/Canada), Caden Trestrail (Fatima College/Defence Force)

Attackers: Timothy Valentine (TSF Academy/USA), Jasai Theophilus (QRC/ Pro Series), Adasa Richardson (Naparima College/Cox Coaching School), Phillip Nelson (QRC/City FC), Josiah Kallicharan (Eastbourne United/England)

Technical Staff: Shawn Cooper (coach), Verentta Flanders (manager), Devin Elcock (assistant coach), Jefferson George (goalkeeper coach), John Jerry (equipment manager), Gilbert Bateau (trainer), Michael Taylor (physio), Chantal Cooper (team doctor), Richard Horsham (mental coach).