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Attacker Asha James rejoined the T&T senior women’s team ahead of the crucial Group F World Cup Qualifier against El Salvador on Friday (April 17) at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, Port-of-Spain.
She was one of five changes made to coach Damian Briggs’ 20-woman team for the must-win encounter, which will ensure the T&T football queens’ place in a final group of eight teams for a play-off, as well as a berth in the 2026 Concacaf W Championship. Briggs assured us that it is the best possible squad to represent the country on Friday.
Apart from James, who last donned the red, white, and black of T&T in a convincing 5-0 thrashing of Barbados in their opening match of the qualifiers at Kensington Oval in Barbados in December, Briggs also called up striker Nia Hislop, the daughter of former national goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, who attends the University of Massachusetts Amherst; defender Sakiah Williams of the California State University; and midfielder Sonia Lamarre, who represents Seattle University.
Midfielder Summer Arjoon also earned a place in Briggs’ team, which comprises mostly players who play abroad, such as seasoned midfielder/defender Liana Hinds; midfielder Elise Franco of Brisbane City FC; Christa Waterman, a defender from the Patuxent FA in the USL League Two; and the Schneider siblings Myla and Emma, of the SC Rio Tinto Feminino in Portugal.
The Calypso Queens are second in the group with four points, coming courtesy of a 5-0 win over the Barbadians and a come-from-behind 2-2 tie with Honduras in Tegucigalpa on March 4. They need to beat El Salvador for the lone spot to advance from the group. The El Salvadorans have been at their absolute best to lead the group on six points, by first thrashing the Hondurans 3-0 at the Estadio Jorge “El Magico” Gonzalez in San Salvador on December 2, before demolishing the Barbadians 13-0 on March 1 at the Estadio Nacional La Delicias in San Tecla.
Briggs and his charges have been hard at work behind the scenes. He maintained that they just want to finish the job that they started.
When asked about his team, Briggs said, “We’ve selected what we believe is the best possible squad at this time. There are a couple of new additions who will bring added depth, along with some experienced players returning to the group. We head into camp this weekend, and it’s a critical period for us, but everyone is in good shape, fit, and ready to get down to business.”
Briggs, in a previous interview, said he wanted to protect his charges from unrealistic expectations by blocking out the noise. “I think, for me, I’ve always approached every game the same, as professionally as I can. And yes, I know the magnitude of what we want to achieve by getting results, but I try to take the same approach. I’m always alert to the fine details that can help us.
“That comes from working closely with the staff, looking at the opposition through analysis work, and then going on to the training pitch and trying to prepare to train to play how we want to play against the opposition. So what I try to do is to keep the big noise away from the players and the staff so that we just continue working the way we’ve worked for the last two games and just try to make the improvements as we go along.
“As always, you look for areas that you can exploit against the opposition when you do the analysis work. There are always areas that we think we can go and try to exploit. At the same time, we have to look also at what they do and have respect for what they do. Not a fear, but a respect for what they do.”
T&T TEAM
Goalkeepers
21.Akyla Walcott (Wheeling University—USA), 1.Simone Eligon (Chatham Town FC—England), 18.Malaika Dedier (UTT)
Defenders
5.Cicely Spencer Wickham (Florida Atlantic University—USA), 22.Kaitlyn Darwent (St Joseph’s Convent/ UTT), 15.Christa Waterman (Patuxent FA—USA), 6.Victoria Swift (Club Sando), 3.Javanah Moreno (Club Sando), 12.Myla Schneider (SC Rio Tinto Ferminino—Portugal), 4.Emma Schneider (SC Rio Tinto Ferminino—Portugal), 2.Sakiah Williams (California State University—USA)
Midfielders
7.Liana Hinds (unattached), 8.Elise Franco (Brisbane City FC—Australia), 23.Asha James (AC POS), 14.Summer Arjoon (AC POS), 20.Sonia Lamarre (Seattle University—USA)
Attackers
11.Aaliyah Prince (AC POS), 10.Alexcia Ali (Club Sando), 17.Ariana Borneo (Ashland University—USA), 19.Kennya Cordner (Club Sando), 9.Nikita Gosine (Pleasantville Secondary/ Point Fortin Pioneers), 13.Gabrielle Williams (unattached), 16.Nia Hislop (UMass—USA).
English (US) ·