Crunch time for Trinidad and Tobago U20 women footballers

WITH two days remaining before their first match of the Concacaf Under-20 Women's Championship qualifiers, coach of TT Dernelle Mascall said it is crunch time for her players as they prepare to play Bermuda at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva on February 21 from 7 pm.

TT are in Group E in the first round of qualifiers alongside Bermuda, Canada and Dominica.

TT held a training session on February 18 at the Ato Boldon Stadium practice field. Speaking to the media before the training kicked off, Mascall said, "We have only had the team in its entirety around the 14th, so it is crunch time for us. We are staying focused and the good in it we warm up to soca, so that is very good for us."

Carnival is in full swing in TT with just two weeks left in the season.

Many of the Under-20 players were also part of the national Under-17 women's squad who competed in the Concacaf Under-17 qualifiers.

"I think that (Under-17s tournament) was ideal for us, particularly seeing some of the Under-17s step up. They are now part of the Under-20s basically because of their performance at that tournament." The Under-17 team advanced past the first stage of qualifying, keeping their dreams alive of earning a spot at the next Under-17 World Cup.

Looking at her team, Mascall said, "When we look at the composition of this team we have Soleil (St Hill) and (Ariana) Borneo, they are no strangers to representing TT...we have the likes of (Orielle) Martin, (Rasheda) Archer and Cherina (Steele). They were exceptional at the Under-17s, so we expect them now to play a pivotal role as they move on to this tournament."

Gabriel Ramdeen and Natalie Penniston-John are two players who were not part of the Under-17s expected to add quality to the Under-20 squad, said Mascall.

Canada are expected to be the toughest test for TT, but Mascall said every match is considered a key assignment. "Gone are the days when we look past teams. We will be taking one game at a time. We are not going to jump ahead and say Canada is the only real challenge...we (will) make sure the girls stay focused and we do what we need to do each game, we recover and then we go again."

The TT coach encouraged the public to support the team. "I think they are a bunch that the fans would love to see play. We could compare them to the era where we had (Ahkeela) Mollon, Yaya (Kennya Cordner) and Tasha St Louis and when we actually had fans rallying behind women's football. I think this group can bring that back for us."

"We host two groups actually (in Trinidad)...it is football (and) we love football, so why not come out and support the women's programme."

TT defender Anastasia O'Brien is anticipating the tournament. "I am very excited. I am hoping that we execute everything that we did in training. Play how we train and beat every single team."

O'Brien, who attends Tranquillity Secondary School and lives in Maraval, wants TT to play an attacking brand of football.

"We looking to attack, no defensive-minded (football). We want to stay in the attacking third always. We want to keep everything in the attacking third because we want to come out on top.

"I am hoping I execute everything going into this Under-20 tournament from the training with the Under-17 team. It has built me a lot."

After round-robin play, the six group winners will advance to the 2025 Concacaf Under-20 Women's Championships where they will join the pre-seeded, top-ranked teams Mexico and US.

The final round of the Concacaf Under-20 qualifiers will be played in May, with the eight teams contesting two groups of four. The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals and will also secure their spots in the Under-20 Women's World Cup which will be held in Poland next year.