Yorke: Jamaica friendlies give Soca Warriors chance to close gap

SOCA Warriors coach Dwight Yorke believes his team's two friendly matches against Caribbean rivals Jamaica will give his team the opportunity to bridge the gap between the two nations on the international stage.

Trinidad and Tobago will tackle Jamaica from 8.30 pm (TT time) today – February 6 – at the Catherine Hall Sports Complex in Montego Bay, with a second friendly scheduled for 9 pm at the Anthony Spaulding Complex, Kingston on February 9.

Speaking to the media on Jamaican media on February 5, Yorke stressed the value of the matches for TT who are ranked 102nd on the Fifa rankings. Jamaica are ranked 62nd and currently have the best standing among Caribbean teams.

"These games gives us the opportunity as a backroom staff to work with these players even though it's a very short period of time. It's still a chance to have a look at the local players in a more close-up environment. And certainly, coming into Jamaica, it doesn't get more hostile than this," Yorke said.

"We've got some tough games ahead of us, so this will give us an idea in terms of closing the gap and getting closer to the level Jamaica is at, at the moment."

This is the third consecutive year the two countries have held in a friendly two-game series.

In March 2023 in Jamaica, TT got a 1-0 win, then played to a goalless draw against the "Reggae Boyz."

Last year, in games played at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo and the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar, Jamaica flipped the script, with a 1-0 win in the first encounter before the teams drew 0-0 in the second game.

"It's a collaboration between the two countries. We know the history between the two countries and the passion we bring to the game. We're excited to be here and we're expecting a really tough game."

With the Soca Warriors set to play Cuba in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup prelims on March 21 and 25, Yorke said it was key for the team to land preparation fixtures outside Fifa's international window.

"Certainly from our perspective, and I'm sure with Jamaica it's the same, we're trying to expose these players to these international games. The World Cup qualifiers and Concacaf Gold Cup are coming up and we want to be very much a part of that."