ZAID MOHAMMED: Sports Editor Wednesday, April 12 2006

THE WAITING will be finally over today for footballers hoping to be part of Trinidad and Tobago’s historic excursion at their first ever World Cup Finals in Gernmany from June 9 to July 9.

At approximately 2 pm today coach of the Soca Warriors, Leo Beenhakker, is expected to announce his squad of 23 players whose names will be submitted to FIFA, the world governing body for football, as the official team representing the World Cup debutants.

The declaration, listed for the Crowne Plaza, Wrightson Road in Port-of-Spain is something of an anti-climax as qualifying countries for the 2006 World Cup have until May 15 to select their national squads.

However by showing his hand earlier than expected, Beenhakker will be hoping to remove the unbearable anxiety for the footballers in contention and quell public speculation about the make-up of the squad.

With the announcement of the team, the footballers can get down to the serious business of stepping up their preparation for the world’s biggest football tournament.

The Dutchman, who coached Holland at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, has already stated that he already has in mind which players will constitute the core of the squad for the warm-up matches and the preparatory camps in Wales and Austria.

Beenhakker, who has selected Rotenburg in northern Germany as his base for the Soca Warriors, has openly declared his commitment to select players who performed outstandingly in the CONCACAF qualifying campaign.

And he has been loathe to acknowledge the late claims of several players with Trinidad and Tobago parentage but resident abroad who have staked their claim once the Soca Warriors booked their place in Germany.

He has however personally seen most of the players making themselves eligible for consideration but is widely expected to stick to the team that defeated Bahrain in the two-match play-off in Port-of-Spain (1-1) and Manama (1-0).

The rest of the squad however is likely to be an interesting toss-up of young players who are based in the US and several locally based campaigners in the T&T Pro League.

They will be selected basically as back-up for the senior players such as skipper Dwight Yorke, the experienced Russell Latapy, Stern John and the sometimes suspect defence manned by Marvin “Dog” Andrews, Cyd Gray and Dennis Lawrence.

Despite nursing a knee injury, Beenhakker is certain to carry Kelvin Jack, who plays for Dundee in the Scottish League as his No 1 goalkeeper.

Also likely to have his name pencilled in is the English Premiership’s West Ham custodian Shaka Hislop while Clayton Ince, regarded as the best of the trio should also make the trip.

Defenders Andrews, Tobagonian Gray, Lawrence, who scored the winning goal in Bahrain last November and Avery John, Atiba Charles and Brent Sancho should have no difficulty in getting Beenhakker’s nod.

In midfield Latapy, England-born Chris Birchall, who scored the equaliser against Bahrain in Port-of-Spain, Silvio Spann, Aurtis Whitley, Carlos Edwards and Dennis Theobald most likely will be on the Dutchman’s list.

And leading the attack will be former Manchester United star Yorke, wearing the captain’s armband with John of Coventry City, Kenwyne Jones, Cornell Glen, Jason Scotland and Scott Sealey fighting to start.

Trinidad and Tobago were drawn in Group “B” of the preliminary round of the World Cup finals. The Soca Warriors play Sweden in the opening match on June 10 in Dortmund; clash with England on June 15 in Nuremburg; and come up against Paraguay five days later in Kaiserslautern.