TT beach soccer men tackle Concacaf giants US on March 11

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO will have to be at their best to give themselves a chance of defeating the first-ranked Concacaf team, US, when the teams meet in Group B at the Concacaf Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers on March 11.

The match will be played at Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility in Nassau, Bahamas. at 6 pm. All the other teams in Group B are ranked higher than eighth-seeded TT, with Panama seeded fourth and home team Bahamas in fifth.

Group A will be equally competitive as it includes second-ranked Mexico, third-seeded El Salvador, sixth-ranked Costa Rica and seventh-seeded Guatemala.

The top two teams at the end of the competition will qualify for the 2025 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup in Seychelles, a small country in East Africa, from May 1-11.

The experienced Kevon "Showtime" Woodley, 38, has been named on the TT team and will play as a striker. Kareem Perry, also 38, will play a similar position.

Another veteran on the team is goalkeeper Zane Coker, and the team will be coached by former player Chad Appoo.

TT will be familiar with their opponents. At the last Concacaf Beach Soccer Championships in 2023, TT were in Group C alongside the US, Panama and Dominican Republic. It was a 12-team tournament on that occasion.

TT opened with a 2-1 defeat to Panama, which was followed by a heavy 6-2 loss to eventual champions US. TT rebounded with a 3-2 victory over Dominican Republic in their last group match, which was enough to advance to the quarterfinals as the third-placed team in Group C.

TT exited the tournament after falling 2-0 to Mexico in the quarterfinals.

In this year's tournament, only eight teams will compete with the top two teams in each group progressing to the semifinals.

The tournament ends on March 16.

TT squad: Jordan Riley (wing/midfielder), Jesse Bailey (fixed/defender), Shane Hospedales (wing/midfielder), Kareem Perry (pivot/striker), Kairon Joseph (fixed/defender), Zane Coker (goalkeeper), Jabari Grey (goalkeeper), Kevon Woodley (pivot/striker), Kevon Williams (wing/midfielder), Jayson Joseph (wing/midfielder), Anderson Peters (fixed/defender), Akinola Gregory (pivot/striker), Chad Appoo (head coach).

US squad: Christopher Toth, Tanner Akol, Antonio Chavez, Ricardo Carvalho, Nicholas Perea, Cody Valcarcel, Andres Navas, Conner Rezende, Alessandro Canale, Gabriel Silveira, Christpher Albiston, Austin Collier.

Fixtures:

March 11

• Group A - El Salvador vs Costa Rica, 2 pm; Mexico vs Guatemala, 4 pm
• Group B - TT vs US, 6 pm; Panama vs Bahamas, 8 pm

March 12

• Group A - Guatemala vs El Salvador, 2 pm; Costa Rica vs Mexico, 4 pm
• Group B - TT vs Panama, 6 pm; Bahamas vs US, 8 pm

March 13

• Group A - Costa Rica vs Guatemala, 2 pm; Mexico vs El Salvador, 4 pm
• Group B - US vs Panama, 6 pm; Bahamas vs TT, 8 pm