Trinidad to play Belize, Peru in football friendly

Port of Spain: Trinidad and Tobago will play two Central American opponents later this month as they continue preparations for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July.

The Trinidadians will take on Belize at home March 22 and travel to Lima to face Peru three days later, reports CMC.

The March 26 encounter against Peru is a return friendly after the Caribbean side lost to them 0-2 here last month.

"We had a good opportunity to see some of the players from abroad in the last game against Peru and we also had the chance to see the local-based players in that particular game," said national head coach Hutson Charles.

"The process of seeing what the players have to offer will continue in these two matches coming up."

The match against Belize will be played at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva due to the unavailability of other venues, which are currently being upgraded.

Belize lost 0-1 to Costa Rica and drew 0-0 with Guatemala in their opening two games of the Central American finals in January.

They went on to defeat Nicaragua 2-1 to make it through to the semi-finals, where they lost 0-1 to Honduras before suffering a defeat by a similar scoreline to El Salvador in the third-place playoff.

"These are games that we are looking forward to," said Charles.

"Belize have made it to the Gold Cup so it will be a good chance to have match practice at home to them, and then playing away to Peru will be a good opportunity for the players to get a good test in conditions away from home."

IANS