Blues skipper Carlos Edwards says he’ll continue playing international football for Trinidad and Tobago, despite turning 34 in this coming October. The right-back or midfielder has signed new one-year deal with Town towards the end of last season.
Edwards, who is currently back in the Caribbean, said: "I would love to be playing for the national team and if the opportunity comes around for a couple of the upcoming friendlies then I’m willing to be there. I think I still have one Gold Cup left in me.”
Capped 82 times by his country, scoring four goals, Edwards was reminded of one of his career highlights by Friday’s England-Sweden match, the Soca Warriors having played both sides during the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany: "That will always be one of the outstanding moments in our football and particularly for me personally. I clearly remember hearing the national anthem playing and coming out with a [0-0] draw against Sweden.
"Then we went into the England game knowing that it would be one of the biggest games for us and holding them for 80 minutes or so before they got the first goal [in their 2-0 victory].
"Nobody expected we would put up a fight. People thought we would go there and be trampled but we played with a lot of determination and passion and we were organised. That was the key to our success.”
Trinidad and Tobago won’t be in Brazil for the 2014 tournament having gone out to Guyana in the very early stages of qualifying last November.
He says that exit should be painful to the players involved: "As much as we are still playing with our clubs, we are lovers of this sport and we need to feel the hurt.
"Honestly, if any player from the national team, whether it be the senior team or even the youth team players, are not hurt or disappointed about us being out of the race, then we don’t deserve to play for the country.
"That may sound a bit harsh, but it’s the truth about how I feel right now. The coaches and the administrators have their part to play but we as players are the ones out on the field. We have to get the results.”
While Edwards has been back in the Caribbean, Town players have been spotted in various other parts of the world during the close season with Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and released defender Ibrahima Sonko sighted with striker Michael Chopra in Dubai earlier in the summer.
Boss Paul Jewell and U18s coach Russell Osman were due to take part at the Addison Lee Footballers’ Golf Classic at La Manga in Spain last week.
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