Trinidad and Tobago ousted from Concacaf Beach Soccer Champs

Trinidad and Tobago’s beach soccer men put in another valiant effort when they played Bahamas in their third and final group match at the 2025 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championships on March 13, but they fell to a 5-4 loss as they were knocked out from the competition.

Playing at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility, Nassau, Bahamas, TT already had no hopes of advancing to the semifinals after the USA’s emphatic 5-1 victory over Panama in the earlier group B match. Rooted to the foot of the four-team table without a point, TT’s mission would have been to play spoiler as a win would have knocked Bahamas out of the tourney.

In the end, a goal midway through the final period from Kyle Willams was the difference maker in a nine-goal thriller as Bahamas got the crucial win to see them topping the group with six points and advancing to the semis alongside the defending champs US (four points).

Before an energetic home crowd, the encounter started well enough for coach Chad Appoo’s TT team as Jordan Riley scored from close range after only three minutes when the industrious Akinola Gregory played a dangerous ball across the face of goal.

TT’s lead lasted for all of seven minutes before Wood Julmis equalised with a free kick after being upended by Riley. A minute later, Bahamas got their first lead when Lekenson Chery scored a scrappy goal from close range after Shane Hospedales attempted to clear his lines.

In the final minute of the first period, Riley scored with a right-footed shot which glanced off the sand and nestled in the back of the net.

Two minutes into the second period, the game’s frenetic pace continued as Bahamas took a 3-2 lead when a close range header from Brandon Adderley deflected off TT skipper Jesse Bailey and into the goal.

In the 16th minute, Gregory got his third goal of the tourney when he held off a challenge from Jean Francois at the back stick to make it 3-3.

Bahamas made it 4-3 in the 18th minute when Adderley scored from a Julmis cross, with TT substitute keeper Zane Coker tying the scores at 4-4 two minutes later with a long-range left-footed volley after juggling the ball outside his area.

In the final period, both Adderley and Riley were denied by excellent saves as they came close to getting a go-ahead goal.

In the 30th minute, though, the hosts had the final say to make it 5-4 when Williams bundled in a weak effort through a crowd of bodies after a right-side corner from Julmis.

On March 15, Bahamas will play Guatemala in the semis, with group A winners El Salvador tackling the US in the other semi.

The final of the tournament will be played on March 16, with the two finalists advancing to the 2025 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup in Seychelles from May 1-11.