Glen, Sealy relishing England battle

The Soca Warriors, behind Jamaica are only the second English-speaking nation to reach a FIFA World Cup Finals, and face former colonial masters England, the energetic Sweden, and the unpredictable Paraguay in Group "B" next year in Germany.

"I was telling a friend that I thought we might get drawn with England, so being in a group with them came as no surprise to me," remarked Glenn on the United States Major League Soccer website.

Glen, who recently transferred to the Colora-do Rapids, added, "Sweden is a difficult team, but we still have the capability and the skill to beat, or tie, Sweden and make it to the second round. I’m pretty confident that we could make it to the last 16."

Sealy, who plays for the Kansas City Wizard in the MLS, feels facing Sweden first is a positive situation.

"That’s the team we’d like to face first out of the three because England is the most difficult," he said. "You want to establish yourself, find yourself, in the first game. And I think against England that would be difficult to do. Sweden will be a very good test, and hopefully we can get a result there and the next game is against Paraguay, so we could build on (a good first result)."

Since qualifying for their first FIFA World Cup Finals on November 16 by virtue of a 2-1 aggregate-goal playoff victory over Bahrain, the two-island republic was abuzz with excitement ahead of the Draw, even though they knew it may provide a heavy dose of reality next year.

"Everyone’s still happy and still very excited that we qualified," Sealy said.

"There are still people with flags on their cars, and Soca Warriors on every sign. It’s still a big deal in TT. I think it did a lot for the country and the buildup to the World Cup is going to be even bigger."

After becoming the smallest country to make the World Cup, Glen, Sealy, their team-mates, and their countrymen have a right to be confident and excited.

Having experienced the tension and thrill of qualifying for the first time and the excitement of seeing where its fate has been cast, Sealy concluded that TT can now get on with the task.

"It’s a tough group," Sealy said. "England is the favourite to win the group, and Sweden is probably the second favourite. Other than England, I think it’s up in the air."

Soca Warriors goalkeeper Clayton Ince is also relishing the prospect of representing TT at the World Cup Finals.

The 33-year-old told the website of Coventry City, the English League Championship side for whom he plays, that he can hardly wait for the tournament to get started.

"I’m looking forward to it because every player wants to play football in the FIFA World Cup," he said. "And being a small country like Trinidad and Tobago, it’s great to be there with the likes of England, Germany, and Brazil.

"We will be rated as one of the best 32 countries in the world at the time."