Warriors face ‘friendly fire’ from Bermuda

Both teams are also expected to meet each other this weekend, at a time and venue to be announced, with the hosts looking to halt a two-game losing streak under new coach Leo Beenhakker.

The Dutch-born coach and his assistants Whim Reizerburg and Theo De Jonk will be taking a close-up look, for the first time, at striker Stern John, as well as Scottish-based defenders Marvin ‘Dog’ Andrews and Brent Sancho, who were due to join the squad last night.

Following two training sessions yesterday — a morning stint at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva and an afternoon practice at Mucurapo — Beenhakker said, "this is another training exercise for the team before the match against Panama and we will use it as a chance to see more of the players before we select the final team.

The 62-year-old said that today’s fixture is "a chance to see how much progress has been made over the past week or so and I have also promised the players too that there would not be too many changes during the game. So it means that they will have more to show what they have to offer."

John noted that, following the 2004-2005 English League Championship (First Division) season with Coventry City, he took a week’s rest and is "feeling pretty well so far."

Concerning TT’s World Cup quest, the 28-year-old forward said: " We still have a good chance. The game on the fourth is a massive game for us and we need to win that game. I think we just need to take it one step at a time," he added.

In his first game under Beenhakker, he said: "most of the guys that play in England will know (his) sort of system. No-one is really assured of (a place) on the fourth and everyone have to come out and prove (themselves). And he is also looking to regain his form ahead of the forthcoming season in England.

"I still have a two-year contract with Coventry," he stressed. "I just need to have a good pre-season and hopefully start off with a bang, start back scoring some goals."