Trinidad and Tobago’s Futsal Head coach Paul Decle has selected a fairly strong 14-man squad to challenge for Concacaf Futsal Championship honours, as they brace for tough competition in Managua, Nicaragua.

Decle’s team includes Soca Warriors midfielder Michel Poon-Angeron and his AC Port of Spain teammates Sedale McLean, playmaker Che Benny, and flanker Jameel Neptune, for the April 13-20 tournament. Neptune has been on the rebound from a fractured leg which he suffered in a Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League (TTPFL) match against 1976 FC Phoenix last December.

Poon-Angeron, 22, who made his debut with the senior Soca Warriors in 2021, has over 10 caps for the Angus Eve-coached team, three of which he earned during their quarterfinal run in a fairly successful 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League A campaign. He also featured in their recent friendly against Jamaica, but failed to make the final squad that lost the Copa America play-in to Canada.

The squad also includes four players from reigning TTPFL tier one champions Defence Force, as the quartet of Jelani Felix, Dylon King, Darius Ollivierra, and Matthew Woo Ling have all found favour with Decle and his assitant Clayton Morris. Veteran player and former Defence Force captain, Jerwyn Balthazar, 41, is also a member of the squad.

The twin island republic will square off against the likes of Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and the United States in group C of the 12-team tournament that features three groups of four. The top two teams from each group will progress to the quarterfinals, along with the two best third-place teams.

The competition’s semi-finalists will represent Concacaf at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan, scheduled for September 14 to October 6, 2024.
In the previous Concacaf Futsal Championship in 2021, Costa Rica captured their fourth title after defeating United States in the final, while the hosts Guatemala bettered Panama to third spot.

The delegation is scheduled to depart Trinidad and Tobago for Managua next Thursday.

T&T Futsal Squad: Kelvin Henry (goalkeeper), Andre Marchan (goalkeeper), Jerwyn Balthazar, Che Benny, Jelani Felix, Shane Hospedales, Dylon King, Sedale McLean, Jameel Neptune, Darius Ollivierra, Kareem Perry, Michel Poon-Angeron, Adrian Welch, Matthew Woo Ling.

Brent Sam scored deep into second half stoppage time to rescue a 1-1 draw for Defence Force against fellow Trinidad and Tobago side Port of Spain in Group A action on Thursday, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

With the result, Port of Spain complete their campaign with one point, while Defence Force remain in third place in the group with five points.

The draw for Defence Force also means that Jamaican club and Group A leaders Cavalier FC have qualified for the semifinals.

There was no shortage of chances in the first half for either side, as they went back-and-forth in an exciting and wide-open affair.

Port of Spain looked set for an opener in the fifth with captain Duane Muckette bearing down on goal, but his effort was parried wide by Defence Force goalkeeper Christopher Biggette.

Defence Force looked to wrestle control away from Port of Spain in the second half and if not for a reaction save from Port of Spain goalkeeper Jadel Poon-Lewis, Nathaniel Garcia would have had the first goal of the match right before the hour mark.

But Port of Spain would muster the first goal in the 77th, when Michel Poon-Angeron stripped a Defence Force player of possession, played a quick one-two combination with Muckette and then finished into net for a 1-0 lead.

Defence Force pushed hard for a late 1-1 equalizer and hit paydirt in the 90+3 on a well-placed strike from Sam off a pass from Reon Moore to earn Defence Force a share of the spoils.