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• Former Soca Warriors stalwart Shaka Hislop points to lack of talent, depth in T&T squad as Dwight Yorke's biggest test

  Though Dwight Yorke is committed to throwing his best efforts into his new role as senior Soca Warriors Head coach, former teammate Shaka Hislop believes it is the talent within Trinidad and Tobago’s setup that will ultimately determine the success of his tenure.

  Yorke, the former Manchester United and Soca Warriors striker, was given a mandate by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) to qualify the Twin Island Republic to the 2026 Fifa World Cup or face the boot and the 53-year-old has declared his readiness to give of his best.

  “Rest assured, I will give 100. I feel very calm, very excited at the same time, but fully aware of the challenge that is lying ahead. There’s lots of hard work to be done,” Yorke told TTFA media interview shortly after arriving in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday.

  “Not just me, the backroom stuff, the players to get where we want to get... obviously, trying to qualify for the World Cup. And yes, along the way, I’m sure they’re going to be some testing times for us. But that’s the challenges that lies ahead. So once we embrace it, once we are fully aware of it, and once we get the support, I fully believe, I’m fully confident that we can get the job done,” he added.

  However, Hislop, while welcoming Yorke’s appointment, knows all too well that coaches coach but the results will ultimately come from how the players perform on match days.

  In fact, Hislop, who along with Yorke represented the Soca Warriors at the 2006 global showpiece, was not shy to admit that the current squad lacks depth and sufficient talent, which he believes represent the toughest aspect of the puzzle at this point. This, as aside from AEK Athens striker Levi Garcia, Yorke’s current crop is made up of mostly lower leagues or home-based players.

  “We’ve kind of stumbled from coach to coach over the last four or five years, probably dating back to Stephen Hart when he was in charge. But I think the TTFA got it right this time. That’s with the greatest respect to our teammate Dennis Lawrence and Angus Eve, who have both been in charge of the team, but results really didn’t go their way,” Hislop shared during a podcast.

  “I think the big challenge for Dwight coming in with this squad is it’s not a very talented squad, if I may say so... certainly, on paper, and results would bear that out. How he’s able to find the right pieces for this puzzle is going to be Dwight’s biggest test,” the ESPN analyst added.

  That said, Hislop also pointed to the significance of match fitness and, as such, urged the TTFA to ensure Yorke and his players consistently engage warm-up games during the November 2024 and March 2025 international windows.

  Trinidad and Tobago currently sit second in Group B on four points, two behind Costa Rica, with St. Kitts and Nevis (three points), Grenada (one point), and the Bahamas (zero point) completing the group. Qualifying action will resume in June 2025.

  “We’ve got some games during the international window as well. We’ve got the November window, which will be Dwight’s first time on the sidelines. So we have opportunity to see the squad, to make adjustments, to try to bring in players before things get very serious in terms of qualifiers,” Hislop noted.

• Ireland ready to respond after 'honest' New Zealand chat, says Hansen

  Mack Hansen has backed Ireland to bounce back from their 23-13 defeat to New Zealand that saw their 19-game home winning streak come to an end.

  The loss also saw Ireland tumble from atop the world rankings to third as the All Blacks repeated their World Cup quarter-final success from last year, and also marked New Zealand's first win on Irish soil since 2016. 

  Ireland had previously won 25 of their 26 home games under Andy Farrell, which was their longest run on home soil, with their latest defeat before last Friday coming against France in 2021 (13-15). 

  While questions have been asked of a team that have been beaten in three of their past five matches, Hansen was adamant that the mood is not dampened ahead of Friday’s visit of Argentina. 

  "People are always very eager to jump on you when you’re down. It’s like in South Africa, nobody gave them a hope after the first Test," said Hansen. 

  “And what happens? They come back and win it. That’s the best thing about this group. The outside noise is outside noise and nobody knows what goes on in here, how hard we work and how resilient we are.

  "People can chat away. The people who know us know, unfortunately, it was one of those weeks [against New Zealand], but we’re ready to bounce back.”

  Ireland's display was littered with errors against the All Blacks, which included 21 handling mistakes, 30 missed tackles and 13 penalties conceded at the Aviva Stadium. 

  But eradicating those mistakes could prove difficult when they face Argentina on Friday, who come into the encounter on the back of a 50-18 thrashing of Italy. 

  ​Ireland, however, have not lost to the Pumas since the 2015 World Cup quarter-final and have beaten them on the three subsequent occasions they have played in Dublin.

  And Hansen is confident his team-mates can respond against Felipe Contepomi's side and continue their impressive run against Argentina. 

  “There weren’t really hard chats, just honest chats,” added Hansen on Monday's debrief. 

  "We came to the conclusion that it wasn’t good enough and also that it just wasn’t us.

  "So this week we’re looking to right a lot of wrongs and no better place to do it then back in the Aviva in front of a home crowd."

• Ronaldo concedes he 'can't think long term anymore'

  Cristiano Ronaldo has conceded he "can't think long term anymore" as he approaches his forties.

  Ronaldo, who has scored the most goals in history, is still starring for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, while he is a regular starter for Portugal under Roberto Martinez.

  The former Real Madrid superstar turns 40 in February, though is showing no signs of slowing down and has already scored 10 goals for his club this season.

  He also hit the 900-career goals mark when he netted for his country against Croatia in September, and has since added two more international strikes to his vast collection.

  Ronaldo has publicly set out his aim to net 1,000 goals before he retires, but he knows short-term targets are now the order of the day in the twilight of his career.

  "I now face my life as living in the moment. I can't think long term anymore," Ronaldo said after receiving the Platinum Quinas, the highest honour available to Portuguese players.

  "I said that I wanted to reach 1,000 goals, but it seems that now everything is easy, just last month I reached 900.

  "It's about living in the moment, seeing how my legs will respond in the next few years. If I reach 1,000 goals, that's fine, but if I don't, I'm already the player with the most goals in history."

  FPF president Fernando Gomes hailed Ronaldo as "an ambassador for Portugal".

  Ronaldo also took the chance to air his disappointment at players who chose not to represent Portugal.

  He said: "I believe there is nothing better than representing the national team. Coming to play for the national team, and representing the entire country — all its culture, your children, your mother, your father, your best friends — that is why I often feel disappointed with some players who do not want to represent the national team.

  "Time flies, and there is nothing better than playing. I hear many people say that Portugal is a small country. Portugal is a great country. We need to think that way; we must believe that, regardless of the country's size, we have everything: an extraordinary country, the infrastructures we have, the stadiums, the magnificent coaches we have.

  "The potential of these players, the stars we have, we just need to refine a few edges and believe that one day we will be great."

  Ronaldo's Portugal host Poland in the Nations League on Friday before taking on Croatia three days later.