Former National Under-20 Captain Shannon Gomez wants his juniors now seeking to represent Trinidad and Tobago in upcoming Under-20 World Cup qualification that they must stay focused on the task at hand and prepare themselves for a long road ahead.
Gomez is now in the New York City FC first squad, brushing shoulders, sharing conversations and training with the likes of ex-Italian standout Andrea Pirlo, former Spanish and Barcelona star David Villa and Frank Lampard on a daily basis. Lampard has been recovering from a calf injury.
The 19-year-old, on a one-year loan deal from DirecTV W Connection, captained the T&T Under-20 team to the Caribbean title in 2014.
“I would like to urge the players on the current Under 20 team to dream big and aim for the stars. They have a huge opportunity ahead of them.
“The Under-20 stage was the first big opportunity for me on the international stage like it was for many other players like Dwight Yorke and Kevin Molino. And we took it seriously. But the players there now have to have big ambitions.
“They can’t feel comfortable with just making the final team.
“I think they have good potential and they must go onto retain the Caribbean title and then go on and qualify for the Under-20 World Cup,” Gomez said.
Gomez is working tirelessly as he awaits his debut for New York.
“Working towards my debut is an anxious feeling because I know that while putting in all the necessary work that will help me to be ready for when the opportunity presents itself, I have to remain focused and continue working hard to make sure that I capitalise and get a good grasp of the opportunity,” he said.
Gomez made his T&T senior team debut against Panama last year March but he is yet to get called to the current Senior World Cup team. And he isn’t worried as timing is everything for him.
“I think the currently the senior team is in a very good run of form. Once we keep focused on achieving the goal on qualifying for the World Cup, I know we can go all the way.
“I will continue to work hard to play regularly with the national team. Whenever I'm called up, I will make the most of it,” he added.
Balthazar hopes to inspire Futsal men in Costa Rica
Defence Force midfielder Jerwyn Balthazar will shoulder this country’s chances of qualifying for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup when he joins his teammates in Costa Rica next month for a qualifying playoff tie with Honduras. Balthazar was the leading scorer in the recent Caribbean championship and also enjoyed a call up to the T&T Senior men’s team for its recent 2-2 draw with Grenada.
But Futsal is his focus at the moment.
“The preparations have been going good so far, even better than this time around than previously. We have more players involved and more time. The coach has had a good amount of time to implement what he wants,” Balthazar said.
T&T will meet Costa Rica in two training matches next week and Balthazar is anticipating those outings.
“It will be a good test for us especially against the hosts and being able to get accustomed to the conditions and the venue. We are really looking forward to it,” he added.
He touched on his recent experience with the senior team saying “It was a great, learning experience for me. At this point in my career it is about taking in all the points and information and enjoying my experience as a footballer.
I like the Futsal flair that players like Ronaldinho brought to the game and locally I love Russell Latapy. And then on the club stage I looked up to players like Hutson Charles,” Balthazar added.
“Now with the Futsal team we have a great bunch of guys who are working hard and I think it would be a great accomplishment for us to qualify for the World Cup and our first hurdle will getting over Honduras.”
Seattle coach wants more from Jones
Joevin Jones lost his starting place in the Seattle Sounders line up in last Saturday’s 2-1 win over Philadelphia Union. And when Sounders coach Sigi Schmid was asked why he placed Dylan Remick ahead of Jones, he admitted that he wanted more out of the Trinidad and Tobago player.
“I wanted more out of Joevin last week (against Houston) than I got,” Schmid said in the post-game press conference.
He added on Wednesday, “I think (Jones) has got a great set of tools. Sometimes I want to see him more aggressive when he’s one-on-one. When we played Houston, I thought he had some opportunities to go at (Jalil) Anibaba and he didn’t. I want to see him be more aggressive.”
Jones had started three games in a row before going off on international duty last month. He had earlier taken the starting spot from Remick when he joined the club.
“Joevin is extremely fast, and Dylan’s not slow, either,” Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei said this week. “The one thing they have in common is that they’re both good players, and it makes for a competition that is going to raise both their games and ultimately help the team. It’s fantastic. It’s exactly what we should want on the team.”
Meantime, former Seattle star, Guatemalan player Marco Pappa has suffered a sprained medial-collateral ligament in his left knee and could be out for up to four weeks. T&T and Guatemala meet in a World Cup qualifier on September 2nd at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Shaka expects Leicester to win Premiership
Former National Team goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, now an ESPN pundit, says he expects Leicester City to be crowed English Premiership champions. Hislop says he doesn’t expect them to give up a five-point lead to Tottenham Hotspur but he sees it as a one-off.
“I feel this season is a one-off. I expect the Premier League to go back to normal next season.
“There will be 6-7 teams battling for top four spots (on the league table).
“I feel Leicester will win the title this season. There is too much of a gap now (five points) and they are remaining calm,” he said.
As to his thoughts on the success of his former club West Ham United which is in sixth place and chasing a top four finish, Hislop added “West Ham are looking in the opposite direction (from Newcastle United facing relegation) and are currently within a shout of a top four spot and according to the former custodian, all the credit goes to manager Slaven Bilic.”