Soca Warriors have no fear of England

But in the friendly confines of their own training facility, and in the rhythm of their collective hearbeats, Trinidad and Tobago feel something else.

The Soca Warriors play their biggest ever match, a Group B clash against powerhouse England in Nuremburg today, but appear to have no fear of their star-studded opponents.

Trinidad and Tobago are on a high after holding Sweden to a 0-0 draw in their opening game and while respect is there for England’s array of talented players, they will not be overawed, said coach Leo Beenhakker. And far from playing for a draw, they are out to stun Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side.

“The ideal result for us, of course, is winning the game,” Beenhakker said. “You can’t bring a team and prepare them for a draw. That is not the way professional coaches and players go into a game. No-one has to explain to us that on paper there is a big difference in the talent, but we have seen that there are no guarantees for the bigger teams to win games. It is not as easy as it seems for them. We compensate for our lack of talent by playing with passion.” England struggled in their opening 1-0 win over Paraguay in intense heat, and Beenhakker is hoping the weather is the same in Nuremberg, which will favour Trinidad and Tobago. “Hot weather will help very much,” he said. “I am looking forward to it being hotter and hotter.”

Trinidad will again look to the experience of skipper Dwight Yorke to steer them in the right direction, with the former Manchester United striker again expected to be pushed into a defensive midfield role. “England is something I always dreamed of wanting to play against,” Yorke said. “I thought that opportunity had passed.”

It hasn’t either for West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, who was outstanding in the Sweden match, and is set to continue between the posts with first choice keeper Kelvin Jack still recovering from a knee injury.

Avery John is suspended after being sent off against Sweden.

Beenhakker, a three-time Spanish title winner with Real Madrid, said his side knew that they were playing in the biggest game of their lives, but they had their feet on the ground. “We are focused, we are going to play it with a smile but we have our feet on the ground,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in them, and they are extra motivated because it is a dream for them.” England have been quick to stress that they are not underestimating the Soca Warriors following their exploits against Sweden.

Eriksson repeated the point yesterday. “For many of their players it is the match of their lives so we expect a very aggressive and hungry team full of confidence after Sweden,” he said. AFP