Soca Warriors to play Cuba for 2025 Gold Cup spot in March

NEW Soca Warriors coach Dwight Yorke will take his team into competitive action for the first time in March 2025 when they face Cuba on a home-and-away basis in a Gold Cup preliminary matchup. The winner of the two-legged affair will qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.

Concacaf confirmed the seven Gold Cup preliminary matchups on November 20. The matches will feature the four 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal losers, the third and fourth-placed teams from the 2024/25 Nations League A cycle, the top two Nations League B runners-up and the four Nations League play-in winners.

The preliminary matches were determined via Concacaf's rankings of the 14 participating teams after the conclusion of Fifa's November window. The Soca Warriors are ranked fifth behind Costa Rica, Jamaica, Honduras and Guatemala, with Cuba ranked tenth.

The four 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League semifinalists – Canada, Mexico, Panama and the US – will go directly into the 2025 Gold Cup group stage for the June 14-July 6 tournament.

For the Soca Warriors, their preliminary tie will be a rematch against a Cuba team they met twice in their 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League A campaign. Then, under the guidance of caretaker coach Derek King, Trinidad and Tobago played to an exciting 2-2 draw away to Cuba on October 10, before earning a 3-1 win at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, Tobago on October 14 as they preserved their place in Nations League A for another cycle.

Last month's matches against Cuba saw the return to the national setup for the veteran midfield pair of Kevin Molino and Joevin Jones. Jones, who now features for Miscellaneous Police FC in the TT Premier Football League, scored in both matches against Cuba and was also named to the Concacaf Nations League A Best XI for the October window.

Both players were engaged in Yorke's local-based training camp after the coach's arrival in TT on November 8.

The schedule for the Concacaf Gold Cup preliminary matches will be announced at a later date. At the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, under former head coach Angus Eve, the Soca Warriors were knocked out from the group stage after suffering heavy defeats to Jamaica (4-1) and Concacaf powerhouse USA (6-0).

2025 Concacaf Gold Cup preliminary matchups:

Costa Rica vs Belize

Jamaica vs St Vincent and the Grenadines

Honduras vs Bermuda

Guatemala vs Guyana

TT vs Cuba

Martinique vs Suriname

Nicaragua vs Guadeloupe