Thursday, June 1, 2006

BERLIN, Germany (AFP): Thirty-two teams have qualified for the 2006 World Cup finals which take place in Germany from June 9-July 9.

AFP has prepared factfiles on all the finalists. Following is a factfile on Trinidad and Tobago:

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Honours:
World Cup appearances: 0
FIFA world ranking: 47
Odds: 750/1

Coach: Leo Beenhakker
Nomadic coach with four decades of experience, Beenhakker returns to the World Cup at the helm of TetT, 16 years after his last appearance at the finals as Netherlands coach in Italia 90.

Beenhakker's man-management abilities have acquired mythical status during a career that also included a successful spell with Real Madrid in the late 1980s when he led the 'Merengues' to three consecutive league titles.

Key player: Dwight Yorke
Was one of the most feared strikers in Europe during the late 1990s when he formed a lethal attacking partnership at Manchester United with Andy Cole, the highpoint coming with the historic 1999 treble.

Career appeared to be in sharp decline after departure from Old Trafford, but Yorke's big-match experience proved invaluable as Trinidad and Tobago battled through CONCACAF qualifiers and a play-off to book their ticket to Germany.

Trinidad and Tobago
Goalkeepers: Kelvin Jack (Dundee/SCO), Shaka Hislop (West Ham United/ENG), Clayton Ince (Coventry City/ENG)

Defenders: Dennis Lawrence (Wrexham/WAL) Cyd Gray (CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh), Marvin Andrews (Glasgow Rangers/SCO), Brent Sancho (Gillingham/ENG), Ian Cox (Gillingham/ENG), Atiba Charles (W Connection), Avery John (New England Revolution/USA)

Midfielders: Evans Wise (Waldhof Mannheim/GER), Chris Birchall (Port Vale/ENG), Aurtis Whitley (CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh), Anthony Wolfe (Jabloteh), Densill Theobald (Falkirk/SCO), Carlos Edwards (Luton Town/ENG), Dwight Yorke (Sydney FC/AUS), Russell Latapy (Falkirk/SCO)

Strikers: Stern John (Coventry City/ENG), Kenwyne Jones (Southampton/ENG), Collin Samuel (Dundee United/SCO), Jason Scotland (St Johnstone/SCO), Cornell Glen (LA Galaxy/USA)

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