Trinidad and Tobago U20s face Canada in must-win February 25 match

DESPITE Trinidad and Tobago’s 7-0 thumping of Dominica in their second Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Qualifiers Group E tie on February 23, the young Women Warriors will have to come even better to get past Canada in their final group match at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on February 25, from 7 pm.

A beaver-trick from J’eleisha Alexander, two first-half goals from Hackeemar Goodridge and one from Madison Campbell two minutes into second-half extra time sealed TT a convincing win against the Dominicans ahead of their must-win clash versus Canada.

TT need a victory from their final contest to top the group in order to advance to the Concacaf Women’s U20 Championship. Only the group winner progresses, and Canada and TT have both won their two opening matches and are tied on six points each.

However, Canada have a superior goal difference, having hammered Dominica 22-0 and Bermuda 9-0, and only a win would put TT through. TT defeated Bermuda 3-0 in their opener.

TT head coach Dernelle Mascall was pleased with her squad’s improved showing, coming off a nervy performance against Bermuda.

“I’m more proud of the girls and their performance. They stuck to the game plan and we got the result we went for. The target was to finish the game before the half,” Mascall said in the post-match interview.

Mascall made five changes to her starting 11 in the second match, even switching goalkeeper Zaira Aimey against Dominica, to keep key players rested ahead of the Canada test.

On her changes before and during the game, Mascall said, “We have a big task ahead of us, so we had to make sure we have some fresh legs going into the other game (Canada).

“We’re up against the giants of Concacaf. To say 'dress rehearsals,' I would not say that, but it remains the same – take one game at a time – and now the task at hand is Canada. We want to be dynamic. Athleticism is always a good thing and we have some very tactical players.”

Mascall called on locals to come out and support the young team in their final match as they draw inspiration and encouragement from the chanting and supportive home fans.

“The twelfth man will be very important against Canada.”

Meanwhile, goal-scorer Alexander was elated to slam four past Dominican goalie Galisha Lockhart. She is aware of the Canadian challenge, but believes her teammates can put up a fight and possibly seal Concacaf Women’s U20 Champs qualification.

“I was very happy because that was my plan, to score and make my country proud. (Now) it's back to training and take every game one at a time. By the time Canada comes around, we’ll be back and ready,” the striker said.

Reflecting on the Dominica match, Alexander said there was still room for improvement as they gear up for a tournament-deciding contest against the region’s third-ranked U20 women’s team. TT are ranked 13th.

The six group winners from the qualifiers advance to the championships, where they meet pre-seeded, and Concacaf’s top two U20 women’s ranked nations USA and Mexico respectively. From there, the top four Concacaf nations progress to the 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.