Match of the century tomorrow

Jack Warner, Special Advisor to the TT Football Federation extended the invitations to the trio who willingly accepted to join the band of supporters for what has been described by goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, a National Under-12 team-mate of Lara, as "the biggest match for the country in 16 years."

President Richards and Lara, also good friends of captain Dwight Yorke and midfielder Russell Latapy, will meet the two teams before kick-off.

"This match without a doubt is one of the most important that the country will be playing for some time and as a result we are expecting the entire country to join in the support and we want them all to be part of the experience which of course is why we have decided to carry the match live on television," Warner said yesterday.

On the field, head coach Leo Beenhakker put his players through their paces yesterday morning with the second half of the session taking place under a heavy shower but it didn’t force Yorke and company off the pitch.

Beenhakker scheduled another closed door session from 5.30 pm, the same time the Guatemalans were expected in and set to check in at the Kapok Hotel.

The Guatemalan media contingency were around the session yesterday and keen to conduct interviews and get snap shots of the Warriors training.

Beenhakker and his assistants Wim Rhisbergen and Theo de Jong have done their homework on the Guatemalans and the former Real Madrid coach feels TT had only themselves to fault for the 5-1 defeat in the first round encounter.

"We have seen the match (5-1 loss) on DVD and I feel, with all my respect, that in the first place Guatemala did not win, Trinidad lost that match because they made many errors that Guatemala took advantage of very well," Beenhakker said.

According to skipper Yorke, TT will respect their opponents but will be going all out to earn theirs by the end of play tommorow.

"We will give them respect but it dosen’t mean that we will be intimidated by them in anyway," Yorke said yesterday.

"Everyone realises how important this match is for us and we must go all out. I think the last match was a bad dream for us but obviously things have gone differently since then. He (Beenhakker) is a new coach with a different philosophy and way about doing things along with better organisation and the same goes for the kind of team we have right now," Yorke said.

"One thing we cannot predict is the result but I can assure you that the team will go out there and give its all the bring home a result. The vibe overall for this week has been a special one and everyone is understanding his role and how important it is to carry that on to the pitch on Saturday," he said.

Guatemalan coach Ramon Maradiaga also held a closed door session at the FIFA Goal Project Facility in their homeland on Wednesday.

Their experienced midfielder Julio Giron told reporters that his team will hope for a repeat performance which saw them steal a late come from behind 2-1 win against Panama in the last outing.

"We will face Trinidad of the same form that to Panama, because also it is a crucial match and God wants everything comes out well," he said. And he added that the state of the field could play a part in the outcome of the match.

"The bounces that remain in the average field will be fundamental and we must take it to them. It will be a difficult match," Giron added.

In the Guatemalan side is MLS-based striker Carlos Ruiz and Guillermo Ramirez who both scored in the 5-1 win. Also in the team is Juan Carlos Plata but forward Dwight Pezzarrossi, who netted a double against the Warriors, is not in the line-up.