PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Trinidad and Tobago head coach Stephen Hart believes it is important for the Soca Warriors to re-focus ahead of their upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.Speaking after a 20-man squad was announced to face Panama in next Thursday’s international friendly, Hart said the national side could not afford to get carried away with the relative success of this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign.
T&T were good enough to play unbeaten and top their group before finally bowing out in the quarter-finals.
“Tournament football is different from World Cup qualification,” Hart told a media conference here Friday.
“When Canada won the 2000 Gold Cup they had a terrible 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign; and Holland, after doing so well in the 2014 World Cup now can’t win a game (in the current European Championship qualifiers).
“The challenges of playing home and away in a short pace of time, travelling and the fluctuation of players’ form over a longer period are all different. So I’m not getting carried away with our form in the Gold Cup.”
Trinidad and Tobago will enter the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying competition at the fourth round where they will face United States, Guatemala and St Vincent and the Grenadines in home and away ties starting next month.
The clash against Panama will form part of the preparation for that campaign, and will be followed five days later by another friendly against Nicaragua at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Winger Aikim Andrews has been called up to the national squad while captain Kenwyne Jones and Sheldon Bateau return after missing last month’s friendly against Mexico in Utah, United States.
There is no place for striker Willis Plaza.