Report: Noah Powder targeting senior Trinidad and Tobago call-up

Noah Powder - the New York Red Bulls' Academy prospect who, it is hoped, might soon join the club's professional ranks - is in Trinidad for CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying (technically, it's the first round of the Caribbean Football Union U-20 Championship, but the regional tournament and the U-20 World Cup are the big prizes that lie beyond this tournament).

The 17-year-old is moving quickly up the ranks for both club and country: he's an academy player getting regular starts for NYRB II (a pro team) this season; he was the captain of Trinidad and Tobago's U-17 team at last year's CONCACAF U-17 Championship, and he's in the U-20 squad this year.

In an interview with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, Powder reveals he hopes to win selection to T&T's senior national team "within a year", which speaks to his ambition for his career. He also notes that the decision to commit his international future to T&T is one he has taken very deliberately, and not for want of other options:

...the USA called me maybe a year ago and I said I wanted to play for Trinidad. I turned down the US because I figured I could play more for Trinidad and Tobago and be able to express myself more.

Powder and the T&T U-20s start their CFU tournament on June 15 against Guadeloupe in Trinidad.