Warriors ready to give it all

One match, today; one opponent, Paraguay; one game-plan, score a couple of goals.

And with a little help from England, who must defeat Sweden for anything to matter, the Soca Warriors and a twin-island nation are keeping hope alive.

“The only thing is to go for it,” said coach Leo Beenhakker. “We know we must win the match and we cannot worry about the result between Sweden and England. When we win, then we can wait and see what happens.”

Beenhakker yesterday said the Soca Warriors will be shooting for the stars when they play their third tournament game at the Fritz-Walter Stadium in Kaiserslautern.

Trinidad and Tobago must defeat the South Americans to have a mathematical chance of advancing to the 16-team knock-out phase of the competition. However, England must also defeat Sweden in a game that will be played simultaneously (3 pm TT time) in Cologne.

Yesterday, speaking at a media conference at the newly built 45,000-seat Fritz-Walter Stadium in south-east Germany, Beenhakker sounded positive but was realistic about the mammoth task ahead for the World Cup debutants.

He said with the exception of Tobagonian defender Cyd Gray, all of his other injured players have fully recovered and will be considered for what has turned out to be their most important Group “B” match.

That means central defender Marvin “Dog” Andrews is expected to regain his starting position after missing the opening 0-0 draw with Sweden on June 10 and the 2-0 loss to England five days later.

Also returning is left back Avery John who missed the England clash following his sending off against Sweden — the first red card of the 2006 World Cup.

Yesterday, Beenhakker also hinted that midfielder Russell Latapy, who along with skipper Dwight Yorke are the two most experienced players on the side, could come on in some part of the Paraguay match.

He is yet to make an appearance for Trinidad and Tobago in Germany and is likely in his final tournament on the international stage.

Nearing 38 years of age, Latapy, dubbed the “Little Magician,” has been kept on the bench as Beenhakker has not been inclined to use him against the fast style of play employed by the European teams.

The coach, who was asked to stay on after the World Cup by TT Football Federation Special Advisor Jack Warner last Saturday, said his players would relish the opportunity to switch their game back to what they normally play.

“Some players had some difficulty against the fast style of the Swedes and England. But the South American game is in closest relation to us, so the situation looks better for a positive result for us,” said Beenhakker.

He said also the Soca Warriors love to work the ball up front and into the box to create chances for goals but were frustrated against the two opponents faced so far as the ball was stifled in the midfield area.

“The quality of the two teams we faced was very high and that meant that we could not play the kind of game we wanted and create pressure in the box, so we had to play the long ball,” he said.

Beenhakker, who fielded questions in English, German, Dutch and Spanish, praised the performance of his team so far in the competition, saying he could not possibly ask them to do more than they already have.

“I have no right to do that. They have played with courage and passion and like big boys,” he said.

Today, Beenhakker will be leading his second team to the World Cup and is yet to win a match in six outings, despite leading Holland to the last 16 round in 1990 in Italy.

In head-to-head meetings, Trinidad and Tobago have played Paraguay twice — in March 1989 — and both matches ended in draws (2-2 and 1-1).

Possible teams —

Paraguay: Aldo Bobadilla, Denis Caniza, Julio Cesar Caceres, Carlos Gamarra, Delio Toledo, Julio Dos Santos, Roberto Acuna, Carlos Paredes, Cristian Riveros, Roque Santa Cruz, Nelson Haedo Valdez.

Trinidad and Tobago: Shaka Hislop, Dennis Lawrence, Brent Sancho, Carlos Edwards, Avery John, Aurtis Whitley, Chris Birchall, Densill Theobald, Kenwyne Jones, Stern John, Dwight Yorke.