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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.

• Postecoglou defends Spurs mentality after Lloris 'second best' comments

  Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has defended the club following comments made by former goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in his new book regarding the Champions League final in 2019.

  Lloris, who made 447 appearances for Spurs between 2012 and 2024, suggested his former club were happy to be second best, claiming chairman Daniel Levy gifted the players watches with ‘Champions League finalists’ engraved on them before they faced Liverpool five years ago.

  They went on to lose the final in Madrid 2-0. However, Postecoglou, who has questioned the club’s mentality himself, insists the period Lloris referred to should be looked back upon with pride.

  "There could have been a very successful period for the club. They came very close. We're talking about finishing runners-up in the Premier League, runners-up in the Champions League,” Postecoglou said.

  “It could have been a very different era and maybe, in retrospect, you would be looking at those things. It's easier to focus on the negatives when the outcomes are not what you want, but there was obviously a lot right at the time which got them close to the ultimate.

  “From my perspective, you don't put a limit on what you can achieve because if you do, potentially you might miss something that comes along your way."

  Spurs are aiming to avenge their midweek defeat to Galatasaray in the Europa League against strugglers Ipswich Town, who, along with Wolves, are yet to win in the Premier League this term.

  But despite the Tractor Boys’ form, Postecoglou is expecting a difficult test, lauding Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna for the “unbelievable” job he has done at Portman Road.

  "Yeah, I think every weekend, every league game, has its potential to hurt you if you're not at your best. Ipswich will be no different,” Postecoglou said.

  "They got close last week, close the week before. I think Kieran McKenna has done an unbelievable job. We're expecting a tough one at the weekend, our form at home has been pretty strong."

  While Ipswich remain winless upon their return to the top-flight, McKenna believes there have been signs of progress at the club.

  "I don't think you can always set an exact expectation or definition of performances because every game is different. One of our first goals is to be competitive in every match, and we're not too far away from that,” McKenna said.

  “Across the 10 games we have certainly been in the large majority of games. We would have liked to have won a couple by now but, also, we've only lost five out of 10 with what we have been through and the challenges we have faced over the early part of the season.

  "To pick up five results - certainly could have been one or two more - and to be as competitive as we have been, I think there are a lot of positives in there. We know there is another step to take to win games consistently in the Premier League.”

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Tottenham – Dominic Solanke

  After scoring three goals in his last two games for Spurs across all competitions, Solanke will be hoping to get his season up and running against Ipswich this weekend.

  But his work rate at the top end of the pitch has gone under the radar this term. He has applied more pressures in the final third than any other player in the Premier League this season (212).

  Ipswich – Leif Davis

  Davis has been a bright spark in a disappointing season for Ipswich thus far, creating more chances than any other defender in the Premier League so far this campaign (25).

  But he has not neglected his defensive responsibilities either. Only Sam Morsy (17) has won more tackles than Davis (12) for the Tractor Boys in the top-flight.

  MATCH PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM WIN

  Despite being heavily favoured by Opta’s data-led simulations, Tottenham have won just three of their 10 Premier League games against Ipswich (D3 L4). Excluding ever-present sides, it’s their lowest win rate against any opponent they’ve faced 10 or more times in the competition.

  And Spurs have also struggled after competing in the Europa League in midweek. They have lost their last two Premier League games at the weekend immediately following a European match, losing to Brighton and Crystal Palace. Only twice have they lost three consecutive such matches, doing so from December 2012 to March 2013 and from September to October 2019.

  They have also conceded the first goal in each of their last four top-flight home games but have come back to win the last three. No team has ever conceded first but gone on to win four consecutive home games in the competition before.

  However, Spurs have won 32 of their last 36 Premier League home games against promoted sides (D2 L2) and haven’t failed to score in any of their last 42 such games since a 1-0 loss to Wolves in December 2009.

  Ipswich remain winless in their 10 Premier League games this season (D5 L5), their longest run without a win from the start of a top-flight season. They have lost their last two away games 4-1 at West Ham and 4-3 at Brentford, last conceding four or more goals in three consecutive away league games in March 1964.

  The Tractor Boys have also struggled in recent visits to the capital. They have lost their last five Premier League away games against London sides, conceding at least two goals each time (16 in total). However, 33% of their Premier League wins in London have come against Spurs (2/6), including their last such victory in December 2001.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Tottenham – 71.2%

  Draw – 16.2%

• Al-Riyadh 0-1 Al-Nassr: Mane hands visitors bragging rights

  Sadio Mane's first-half strike ensured Al-Nassr maintained their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season with a 1-0 win over rivals Al-Riyadh.

  He smartly finished from close range in the 41st minute, with his goal enough to seal the three points and move Al-Nassr up to third in the table.

  Al-Nassr's threat grew as the first half went on, with Milan Borjan making a fine double stop to deny Ronaldo and Talisca once again before Mohamed Simakan struck the post on the rebound.

  Mane would eventually break the deadlock in the 41st minute though, darting in front of his marker to meet Abdulrahman Ghareeb's low cross and rifle it into the roof of the net.

  The Senegalese striker arguably should have doubled his tally before the break, but was denied by Borjan's stretching save when one-on-one with the Canadian.

  Talisca should have wrapped up the points in the final three minutes, but he blazed over an empty net from close range, before having a late goal disallowed for offside.

  Data Debrief: Derby delight for Al-Nassr

  After drawing their last two matches, this win was a welcome result for Al-Nassr as they racked up their sixth victory of the season to close the gap at the top of the table to six points. 

  It is just the second time Al-Nassr have avoided defeat in their first 10 matches of a Pro League campaign, last doing so in 2013-14, when they won the league title.

  They are now unbeaten in their last seven Pro League derbies (W4 D3), their longest such streak since a run of nine between 2018 and 2020.

  This is the first time in eight such games that they have kept a clean sheet though, and limited their opponents to just five shots throughout.