Soca Warriors in must-win clash against USA in Gold Cup

Trinidad and Tobago need a miracle to qualify for the quarter-final round of the Concacaf Gold Cup as they face regional powerhouse USA in Sunday’s final group A qualifier at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 7pm (TT time).

The Angus Eve-led squad ranked 101 on the FIFA rankings, must overcome the world’s 11th-ranked team and hope for a favourable result from the other group match between St Kitts and Nevis and Jamaica at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

As it stands, TT (three pts) are third in the four-team group but only the top two move on to the knockout round, which kicks off on Saturday.

USA and Jamaica are atop the table on four points each but the former hold pole position owing to a higher goal difference. If TT defeat the USA, they will only advance if St Kitts can eke out a win or draw against the Reggae Boys. A win for Jamaica boots TT out.

TT’s previous group matches saw them trump St Kitts and Nevis 3-0 and then lose 4-1 against Jamaica.

In a pre-match press conference held in Charlotte on Saturday, Eve and veteran goalkeeper Marvin Phillip stressed the importance of an upset and what it would mean for the Soca Warriors.

Eve said, “I know what it would mean for us but I don’t know what it would mean for the country. We came in 2021 after a failed World Cup campaign. Our expectation there was to make the group stage (Gold Cup) because we were still in a rebuilding stage.

“So to qualify proper this time, and to try to get out of the group, was the aim this time and that will show some level of improvement as we go along. So we’re very realistic in what we believe we can do.”

He said that TT’s football had “been in turmoil for a number of years” and that this was the first year, since the pandemic hit in March 2020, that TT had a league up and running.

Eve added, “There’s a lot of issues we’re working through; so it’s getting a little more quiet. The work is being seen on the park where we have been improving a lot. So now we want to make steps going forward every single time we play.

“Now we’ve qualified back to back for the Gold Cup, making the group stage, back to back, now we want to see if we can come out, that would signify progress.”

He confirmed that his squad was in a good mood ahead of the USA test and despite the odds stacked against them, “anything we do is a bonus coming out of this group. We’re still in it going into the last game and I think that in itself is progress.”

Phillip said that victory is the only option.

“We have that (win) in the back of our heads. It's not going to be an easy game and it will be tough. But once we play to our full potential, we will get past the US and go on to the second round.

“It would be a significant feat to get over the US. We have been battling since 1989, there is always a rivalry there. We getting over the US at this point augurs well for our football going forward.”

Across all competitions and friendlies, the USA holds a 20-3-4 advantage over the Caribbean side. The teams have squared off four times in the Gold Cup, with the US team winning all four encounters.