Trinidad and Tobago end Gold Cup campaign with 1-1 draw against Guatemala

TRINIDAD AND Tobago ended their Concacaf Gold Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Guatemala, in the teams' final Group A encounter, at the Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas, United States on Sunday night.

TT entered the game with one point from two matches, while Guatemala was beaten in their previous two fixtures. TT were hoping for a win, coupled with a victory for El Salvador over reigning champions Mexico, to have any chance of advancing to the quarter-final round.

Mexico made the TT-Guatemala result insignificant as they edged El Salvador 1-0 on Sunday night, to finish top of the group with seven points, followed by El Salvador (six), TT (two) and Guatemala (one).

Winger Reon Moore scored TT's first, and only goal, in the group stage after 12 minutes on Sunday. Right-back Alvin Jones intercepted a loose ball in his team's half and raced down the flank before sending a ball across the Guatemala penalty box.

An alert Moore was on hand to slot home a left-footed shot, which wrong-footed Guatemala goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro.

Guatemala made the group stage as a last-minute replacement for Curacao, who had to withdraw from the tournament due to covid19 concerns.

However, the Central American squad earned a share of the points in the 78th minute. Defender Gerardo Gordillo rose to head a corner, from Marvin Ceballos, beyond the reach of TT goalkeeper Marvin Phillip.

TT had a chance to regain the lead eight minutes later, but a long-range freekick from Jones crashed off the crossbar.