TT face Mexico in Olympic qualifier

Trinidad and Tobago’s Under-23 football team will face hosts Mexico in the opening match of the final round 2004 Olympic-qualifying tournament on February 2 at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara.

This was revealed yesterday following the draw which placed  TT in Group “B” with Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. Following one round of matches against each other, the top two teams from the group will advance to the semi finals to face the top two teams from Group “A” which consists of Panama, United States, Honduras and Canada. The two finalists will earn automatic berths for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The eight-team event which runs from February 2-12  will see TT playing three matches in five days and faces the possibility of a further two matches once they progress from the group stage. All group matches will be played as double-headers.

TT coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier stressed that his team will need to be on top of their game for what he predicts will be three gripping encounters. “This will obviously be a tough competition as all the teams are vying for a place in the Olympics. Every match will be a difficult one and we will need to treat each one as a final especially as three matches will be played over five days which makes it very tight,” Charles- Fevrier said yesterday. “As a result of the draw, our players will need to be well-prepared physically and what we do between the matches will also be important. In terms of our opponents, we do not have a good record against the Mexicans in their own country.

“Costa Rica have gotten the  better of us in recent times and Jamaica are currently ranked as the number one team in the Caribbean. This means then that we are the underdogs in the group but the beauty about football is that even the underdogs have a chance of succeeding,” said Charles-Fevrier. “I  have always had confidence in Trinidad and Tobago’s football and I have said this from the moment  I accepted the responsibility of coaching the team.  Our preparations will play a key role and I am quietly optimistic that we can go on to qualify for the games in Athens,” he said. Charles-Fevrier indicated he  may opt to have the team undergo preparations overseas during January. Training took place at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Tuesday and will continue for the remainder of this month with proposed international matches either later this month or in January.

Schedule
Monday, February 2 — Costa Rica vs Jamaica; Mexico vs Trinidad/Tobago — Estadio Jalisco.
Tuesday, February 3 — Canada vs Honduras; Panama vs USA — Estadio 3 de Marzo.
Wednesday, February 4 — Costa Rica vs Trinidad/Tobago; Mexico vs Jamaica — Estadio Jalisco.
Thursday, February 5 — Honduras vs Panama; Canada vs USA — Estadio 3 de Marzo.
Friday, February 6 — Trinidad/Tobago vs Jamaica; Mexico vs Costa Rica — Estadio Jalisco.
Saturday, February 7 — Canada vs Panama; Honduras vs USA — Estadio 3 de Marzo.
Tuesday, February 10 — Semi-finals: Group “A” Winner vs Group “B” Runners-up; Group “B” Winner vs Group “A” Runner-up — Estadio Jalisco.
Thursday, February 12 — Third-Place Game; Final — Estadio Jalisco.