In the absence of one Tobago-born player, another one from the sister isle- defender Cyd Gray will captain this country’s National senior team in a friendly international Kirin 2006 Challenge Cup fixture against Japan at the National Stadium, Tokyo on Wednesday.

T&T head coach Wim Rijsbergen gave the armband to Gray on Monday evening as the team went into its second day in Tokyo and trained at the match venue for one hour ahead of Wednesday’s encounter which will be played before a sold out venue of 55,000 fans and kicks off at 7:20pm (6:20am TT time).

The T&T team, minus captain Dwight Yorke and midfielder Aurtis Whitley, had its first outfield training session under humid conditions on Monday morning after arriving the previous day and checking in at the  Rihga  Royal Hotel in Tokyo. They then  had a light stretch within the compound in the evening following some twenty one hours flying time via London.

Rijsbergen will also go into the game with 17 players after an MRI scan on Yorke back at Sydney FC revealed that he suffered a slight stain in his left groin tendon and has been advised to rest for a few days. He is expected to visit a groin specialist this week.  Whitley meantime  also withdrew from the trip last minute due to personal family commitments and his place has been taken by Jabloteh’s Kerry Baptiste.

Yorke, who had committed to joining the young team last month following the invitation from Rijsbergen, was disappointed with not making the trip, particularly as it would be the first outing for  the “Soca Warriors” following their World Cup showing.

“We are happy to be here to play this game. We are bringing just the players from the local league because it’s not a official FIFA date and it’s a good opportunity for the local players to show their qualities. We have some players with the World Cup experience as well here with us and we will use them in the best possible way,” Rijsbergen told TTFF Media on Monday evening.

“They want to show that they deserve every minute of it and that what happened in Germany was no lucky show for us.

“All over the world it’s the same. They enjoy playing and they try to create and the football may have a lot of risks. And that’s the part we took off when we were trying to get to the World Cup and playing there. But we have to respect the nature of their game but we have to put it together in the best way to be successful in World Cup level. But we also do not want to take away from the creative side from some of our players. Football is a team sport and we balanced both and that will be the future of our game as well. Let’s enjoy the game and hopefully we can continue working on it together and play our best football,” added the Dutchman when asked to comment on the team’s style of play.

“It’s almost the same with Osim and the Japan team because they also have a lot of new faces from their League here and like us they will be trying to expose them to the international game. I don’t know too much about their team but I have seen them before and we know their style just like they will know us. I expect it to be an open game and we will go for it once the whistle goes,” Rijsbergen noted.

Gray, a former Joe Public and Roxborough Composite player, has made 41 appearances for T&T since his debut in a friendly against Guatemala at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in 2001. And though at one time coming in for criticism for his performances in the qualifiers that season, he has matured and performed creditably in the first two World Cup matches in Germany before injury forced him out of the Paraguay match.

“I feel very honoured to be able to lead a national team in a game against Japan. It’s a young team and it will be a tough task for us but that’s what football is about and I expect that we will be eager to do well. The big crowd will not be a problem for some of us and we will try our best to ensure the rest of the new guys settle in as well,” Gray told TTFF Media.

Some of the regular faces in the squad to face Japan include Joe Public’s Gary Glasgow, Jabloteh defender Keyeno Thomas as well as Atiba Charles, Anthony Wolfe, Evans Wise with defender Ian Gray, Baptiste, Trent Noel, goalie Jan Michael Williams and Glenton Wolfe all having had stints before. The newcomers such as goalkeeper Marvin Phillips, a former national Under 17 member and Stephan David, Andre Pacheco and Kendall Jagdeosingh will be the new kids on the scene.

Meantime, new Japan coach  Ivica Osim will have only four World Cup players in his 23-man squad for the game..

He bumped the squad up to 18 with the inclusion of uncapped Nagoya Grampus Eight midfielder Naoshi Nakamura and Yokohama F Marinos striker Daisuke Sakata. Sakata's club teammates defender Yuzo Kurihara and Koji Yamase were also picked for national team duty for the first time as was Urawa Reds midfielder Keita Suzuki, who failed to make the cut for Japan's Athens Olympic squad two years ago.

His other 13 players are all home-based  with only goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and defenders Alex, Keisuke Tsuboi and Yuichi Komano having appeared in Germany.

Japan take on Yemen at home in an Asian Cup qualifier on Aug. 16 in Osim's first competitive game.

"I will probably have around 20 players in the final squad," Osim told reporters. "There are some surprises but I will keep to the same group of players for the Yemen game."

Players from Gamba Osaka, Kashima Antlers and Osim's former club JEF United Chiba were left out as the teams are involved in Asian club competitions.

Osim was less than pleased at the timing of Wednesday's friendly but opted for the path of least resistance in naming his provisional squad.

"There are a lot of players I would like to pick but I can't," he said. "I've only just taken this job so I'm not going to start trying to change the schedule or making demands."

Osim, who led Yugoslavia to the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup, became Japan coach last month.

Arriving on Tuesday to witness the game will be FIFA Vice President Jack Warner while local songstress Sharlene Boodram, whose agent is from here, is carded to sing the T&T anthem before kickoff. (Shaun Fuentes in Tokyo, August 7, 2006, Photo above shows Rijsbergen and Gray talking to the media. Other photos shows action from Monday's evening session)

T&T Squad

Goalkeepers: Marvin Phillip (Starworld Strikers), Jan Michael Williams (W Connection)
 

Defenders: Keyeno Thomas (Jabloteh), Atiba Charles (W Connection), Ian Gray (Jabloteh), Avery John (New England Revolution), Cyd Gray (Jabloteh)
 

Midfielders Kerry Baptiste (Jabloteh), Andre Pacheco (W Connection), Glenton Wolfe (Jabloteh). Trent Noel (Jabloteh), Stephan David (Caledonia AIA) Clyde Leon (W Connection)
 

Forwards: Gary Glasgow (Joe Public), Evans Wise (Waldhof Manheim), Anthony Wolfe (Jabloteh), Kendall Jagdeosingh (Caledonia AIA)
 

 Japan Squad:
Goalkeepers - Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Iwata), Norihiro Yamagishi (Urawa)

Defenders - Alex (Urawa), Keisuke Tsuboi (Urawa), Tulio (Urawa), Yuichi Komano (Hiroshima)

Midfielders - Hayuma Tanaka (Yokohama), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Daigo Kobayashi (Omiya), Makoto Hasebe (Urawa)
 

Forwards - Kazuki Ganaha (Kawasaki), Hisato Sato (Hiroshima), Tatsuya Tanaka (Urawa)