Trinidad and Tobago boys’ Under-17 head coach Shawn Cooper is working assiduously with a group of over 40 local and international youngsters in preparation for the February 7-16 Concacaf Under-17 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Cooper’s training bunch comprises a wealth of foreign-based talent, some from the US and UK, partnered with the nation’s best local-based players, the young unit is goal-bound on World Cup qualification.
Preparations have been going well so far, Cooper said, in a December 30 interview with TT Football Association media.
“We have a couple of boys from the US and they have strengthened the squad a bit. These boys from the US have really added some quality for us and we’re very excited for the road to this World Cup.”
Inter Miami Academy players and siblings Chaz (left back) and Levi Williams (goalkeeper) and other US-based players Kimani Ford and Quintin John are currently in training.
New England Revolution goalkeeper Julian Chapman and their former captain Sheridan McNish, Canada-based Dominic Joseph of Vancouver FC and UK-based Josiah Kalicharan from Brighton Hove Albion Academy.
Cooper said Kalicharan is a six-foot, two inches tall striker who, “has some presence in front, holds the ball well, a good turner of speed for a big boy.”
On the task to select a final team from such an exciting bunch of players, barring some are missing, Cooper said it would be a tough one.
“It would be very difficult (to select a final team) because this pool is a little more competitive than the previous. We are looking and hoping that they gel together in the last couple of weeks before the tournament and we hope for big things,” he added.
The 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup was expanded to 48 teams and will be held in Qatar from November 5-27. Concacaf has been allotted eight slots, as 35 nations begin their qualification quest in February.
From eight groups, only the top team in each advances. TT are in Group B alongside Costa Rica, Guyana, British Virgin Islands and St Maarten.
Cooper welcomes the new format and believes his team may fare better this time around.
“The only difference in this format is that we have two rest days, which augurs well for us. We are trying to mirror our training camp towards that. We are laying some inter-squad games; resting the other day and then playing. Sometimes we overload the boys and this will try to prepare them for the competition ahead.”
He believes, however, that his players need to be more tactically aware during matches, and will use the remaining time ahead to sharpen up these shortfalls before the qualifiers.
“The only thing we are missing is the Central American flavour, that short passing game. Our technical aspect of the game, not too bad. This is why these boys from outside bring some strength to us.”
“Where we need to work on is our tactical aspect. I need the boys to be a little more concentrated on when we lose the ball, in that defensive transition, for us to organise properly. It’s very quick in Concacaf, and we need to concentrate a little more and organise a little faster.”
Cooper said the team would be confirmed in late January. Some the foreign-based players will return to their respective bases while he continues to work with the local crop.
On their progress so far, he added, “Their growth is tremendous. That is one of the areas that we are bettering in terms of keeping possession of the ball. The spacing has to work out a little better, but some of the boys are more technically prepared from that (Under-17) programme we have going on here.
“The programme has been bringing on guys slowly but surely. We looking at a bright future for these young players.”
