Anthony Wolfe welcomes fresh blood in Soca Warriors' lineup

FORMER Soca Warriors striker Anthony Wolfe believes the addition of overseas-based players will do the Soca Warriors no harm as they continue their Fifa 2026 Fifa World Cup campaign on June 6 and also build towards the June 14-July 6 Concacaf Gold Cup.

Currently, in the midst of the second round of Concacaf's World Cup qualifying series, TT men's football team will play St Kitts and Nevis from 7.30 pm at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on June 6, before playing away to Costa Rica on June 10 in the last group game of this round. The top two teams in the group will advance to the final round of Concacaf qualifying.

After two matches, the Soca Warriors are currently second in the qualifying group on four points, with Costa Rica heading the table on six points. One more win for TT is likely to earn them a spot in the final round of qualifying, although Grenada (one point) can still have a say in the argument with their remaining matches against Bahamas and St Kitts and Nevis.

In a telephone interview with Newsday on June 2, Wolfe, who was a member of TT's 2006 World Cup squad, said he thinks coach Dwight Yorke' team has enough to get by St Kitts and Nevis and progress to the Concacaf final round. However, he said the team needs improvement in key areas – particularly speed of play – if they are to go to the next level and be a competitive force on the international stage.

At the Unity Cup invitational tournament in London, TT were outclassed in the third-place playoff against Ghana on May 31 as they lost 4-0. Meanwhile, on May 27, TT lost 3-2 to Caribbean rivals Jamaica after conceding a late penalty. After the loss to Ghana, Yorke suggested the public would be taken by surprise with the new players he intends to add to the squad.

"I'm eagerly anticipating to see who the guys are. We're always open for more players because the quality we have now is not the quality we had way back when we qualified for the 2006 World Cup," Wolfe said. "We had more players coming from abroad playing in the top leagues so they were bringing back that experience and quality. We don't have that now."

Outside of the pair of striker Levi Garcia and centre back Sheldon Bateau, who ply their trades in Russia and Belgium respectively, Wolfe said the team is starved of players who have experience in top-level leagues.

"I will be glad to see if we could get at least four-five players to come in," he said.

Bateau and Garcia are expected to be named in the team for the upcoming qualifiers.

Wolfe however warned wholesale changes could affect the team's chemistry at this critical juncture.

Dwight-ball

"We kinda strayed from that long-ball style now because what Dwight and his staff have done is they have brought in more players who can handle the ball...guys like Kevin Molino and them. People might say they old and whatever but if you look at it now, which player in TT is better than Kevin Molino in his position even at his age?

"We have to give players their respect. Yes, the younger ones want to come up, but players have to wait their turn. You can't rush them into this. You have to bring them in gradually so they can gain that experience and exposure bit by bit," Wolfe said.

Despite the two losses at the Unity Cup, Wolfe said there were positives as the players seem to be adjusting to Yorke's philosophy as they try to play more possession-based football.

"So far, I think Yorke has gained the respect from the players. They want to play for him and that comes back to what he has done for the football fraternity. He has come back with something and they'll give him that respect. They may not give a next coach that respect, but they'll give him it."

Can Warriors up the tempo?

It's not all smooth sailing, though, as Wolfe said the Soca Warriors' pace of play can be found wanting on occasion.

"We have to be a little faster. I find at times we played too slowly (at the Unity Cup). I don't know what's the reason but I think that's our culture too," he said.

Though TT fought back admirably against Jamaica after going behind by two goals, the pace and ball movement of the Ghanaian team seemed too much for Yorke's charges as the Soca Warriors conceded three goals after just 41 minutes.

Wolfe attributed TT's speed of play – or lack thereof – to the gameplay in the local top flight.

"The Ghana team were playing really quickly. That's the quality of their players and they're accustomed to playing at that high-intensity level. In TT, the TTPFL is very slow, so when you meet these teams who are playing fast-paced football, you can look out of your depth."

Wolfe is backing Yorke's experience and that of his staff to find the answers in a timely fashion, though.

"I think they should identify what they need to do to at least try and get the team up to that pace. I wouldn't say they're not fit because I'm not seeing any signs that they're unfit.

"We have to do our homework. We can't focus on other people. We have to focus on our strengths and bring it up to par so we can compete. We don't just want to play, we want to compete. Yes, we're TT, but we come here to stamp our authority. That's what we have to start to get back."

Switching focus to the clash against St Kitts and Nevis, Wolfe said he expects nothing less than a win for TT. However, he said the mistakes must be identified and eradicated for the team to deliver a performance that will earn them three points.

"St Kitts are also coming here believing they can beat us. Let's be honest, we're at our lowest in the football rankings so everybody believes they can beat TT right now...we're at home and we have to win every battle and win every ball."

The Soca Warriors are ranked 100th by Fifa, with St Kitts and Nevis ranked 145th.