Ragoo, Yearwood in FIFA Series squad, MLS quartet out
2026-03-21 - 00:46
T&T men’s interim head coach Derek King has named two uncapped players, goalkeeper Teshorne Ragoo of Club Sando FC and USA-born Orlando City B defender Jaylen Yearwood, in a 24-man squad for the upcoming FIFA Series matches against Venezuela on March 27 and Gabon on March 30 at Pakhtakor Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Ragoo was an unused substitute for King in T&T’s 3-0 away loss to Bolivia last week while the 21-year-old Yearwood was signed last month by Orlando City B to an MLS NEXT Pro contract through the 2026 season after the University of North Florida product was selected as the 14th overall pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft. Yearwood was a senior fullback at North Florida and helped the Ospreys capture the 2024 ASUN Championship. He was a CSC Academic All-District Team selection in 2023 and a three-time ASUN Academic Honour Roll honoree (2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25). Ragoo is one of seven locally-based players selected by King. The others include goalkeeper Jabari Brice (Central FC), defender Adam Pierre (Central FC), midfielders Daniel David (Central FC) and Lindell Sween (San Juan Jabloteh), defender Shervohnez Hamilton (Club Sando), and striker Jaheim Faustin (San Juan Jabloteh), the son of former national midfielder Marvin Faustin. Among the overseas-based call-ups are several players who last donned the national colours in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Concacaf Final Round Qualifiers, including Levi Garcia (Spartak Moscow), Roald Mitchell (New York Red Bulls, USA), Denzil Smith (AV Alta FC, USA), Deron Payne (FC Volendam, Holland), Rio Cardines (Crystal Palace, England), Justin Garcia (Song Lam Nghe An, Vietnam), Noah Powder (Westchester SC, USA), Andre Rampersad (Halifax Wanderers, Canada), Jerrin Jackie (Bahla Club, Oman), Dantaye Gilbert (FK Dukla Prague, Czech Republic), Ryan Telfer (Halifax Wanderers, Canada), and Nathaniel James (North Texas SC, USA). There were also recalls for Duane Muckette (Sohar FC, Oman), John-Paul Rochford (Al-Khaboura SC, Oman), and Reon Moore (Song Lam Nghe An, Vietnam), all of whom were overlooked for most of the Final Round qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup by former coach Dwight Yorke. However, the T&T squad will be without a quartet of Major League Soccer (MLS) players in Tyrese Spicer (Orlando City), Dante Sealy (Colorado Rapids), Wayne Frederick II (Colorado Rapids), and defender Kobi Henry (Real Salt Lake). Also missing are Daniel Phillips (Stevenage, England) and Steffan Yeates (Inter Toronto, Canada), while Andre Raymond and Molik Khan are sidelined through injury. The MLS quartet were all part of the T&T squad during the 2026 FIFA Concacaf Final Round World Cup qualifiers but declined invitations for these two matches. Since taking over as interim coach, King, a former assistant to Stephen Hart, Angus Eve, and Yorke, has led the team in one match: a 3-0 away loss to Bolivia last weekend. That squad was mostly locally-based and featured only two overseas players, Telfer and Rampersad. Speaking ahead of the team’s departure tomorrow, King expressed excitement about the FIFA Series. ”This is an important opportunity for us to bring together a group of players from different environments, both overseas and locally, and continue building our national team identity. This is our first official camp since the World Cup qualification campaign, and the focus is clear: growth, unity, and improving as a team,” said King ”We’re coming up against two very good opponents in Venezuela and Gabon, and we see this as a valuable test. Our objective is to compete, represent the country with pride, and continue laying the foundation as we move towards the Nations League. We selected a group that gives us both experience and potential. The overseas-based players bring exposure to different levels of competition, while the young local players bring hunger and a strong desire to represent the country. “This is part of building depth. We want internal competition and we want players pushing each other. It’s important that we continue to create opportunities for local players to grow within the national team environment.” T&T FIFA Series squad Goalkeepers: Jabari Brice (Cental FC), Denzil Smith (AV Alta FC/USA), Teshore Ragoo (Club Sando FC), Defenders: Deron Payne (Fc Volendam/Holland), Rio Cardines (Crystal Palace/England), Adam Pierre (Central FC), Justin Garcia (Song Lam Nghe/Vietnam), Jaylen Yearwood (Orlando City/USA), Noah Powder (Westchester SC/USA), Midfielders: Daniel David (Central FC), Duane Muckette (Sohar FC/Oman), Andre Rampersad (Halifax Wanderers/Canada), John-Paul Rochford (Al-Khaboura SC/Oman), Lindell Sween (San Juan Jabloteh), Shervohnez Hamilton (Club Sando), Jerrin Jackie (Bahla Club/Oman), Jaheim Faustin (San Juan Jabloteh), Dantaye Gilbert (FK Dukla Prague/Czech Republic) Fowards: Levi Garcia (Spartak Moscow/Russia), Reon More (SOng Lam Nghe/Vietnam), Ryan Telfer (Halifax Wanderers/Canada), Roald Mitchell (New York Red Bulls/USA), Nathaniel James (North Texas SC/USA) Coach: Derek King