No luck in Vegas: Trinidad and Tobago ousted after 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia

DANTE Sealy scored a contender for goal of the tournament, but it was not enough as Trinidad and Tobago were eliminated from the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup after being stifled to a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia in their final Group D fixture at the Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, Las Vegas on June 22.

With both teams needing a victory to guarantee second place in the group and a spot in the quarter-finals, Feras Albrikan’s 60th-minute strike cancelled out Sealy’s first-half stunner to confirm Saudi Arabia’s place in the knockout round.

With skipper Kevin Molino replacing Nathaniel James, Real Gill brought in for an injured Tyrese Spicer and Alvin Jones taking Sheldon Bateau’s place in Dwight Yorke’s starting XI, the Warriors had a cautious start.

Saudi Arabia dominated possession in the opening ten minutes. Molino and striker Levi Garcia tried linking up in the Saudi area, but were quickly crowded out by the defensive line.

TT later put together a neat string of passes in the middle and fed Sealy on the right flank.

The attacker, who scored a double on his TT debut two weeks ago, charged forward against retreating defender Saud Abdulhamid. Upon reaching the edge of the Saudi box, he shifted to his left, adjusted his body and caressed a curling left-footed shot into the top corner to send the Warriors 1-0 up after 11 minutes.

Saudi Arabia could have levelled it two minutes later when Abdullah Madu placed a neat cross to Feras Albrikan in the TT penalty area, but headed into the turf with the ball bouncing over bar.

Soon after, TT could have doubled their lead when Gill escaped his markers on the left and threaded a sleek ball through to an unmarked Garcia, whose one-time hit was just too close to the goalie.

Saudi Arabia continued their press for the equaliser, but TT’s backline of Alvin Jones, Justin Garcia, Rio Cardines and Andre Raymond improved as the half went on, shutting them out. Midfielder Daniel Phillips received a yellow card for a high boot in the 39th minute.

A few seconds later, Levi Garcia beat Saudi defender Abdulelah Al-Amri on the half-line and surged forward threateningly, but his attempt was brilliantly closed down by centre-back Madu.

Jones was called into defensive action twice more before the half-time whistle as TT managed to hold their slim advantage at the break.

When play resumed, Saudi kept possession as TT struggled to find an outlet to connect with Garcia up top. In the 54th minute, Abdulhamid latched on to a well-weighted diagonal ball with his chest and went one-on-one with goalie Phillip. However, Phillip’s charge offset the Saudi striker’s plans and saw him hit wide at close range.

The trailing Saudis kept the pressure on, and against the run of play in the 60th, Albrikan nudged a cheeky flick on top the TT area to a pressing Saleh Alshehri, who rifled his shot on to the crossbar. The ball ricocheted back in to play and at the feet of Albrikan who tapped it in to draw level.

Molino had a threatening run down the right but was unable to deliver a proper final cross, which was put out for a corner. Gill, who lost traction in the second half, was replaced by Ajani Fortune, Molino by Nathaniel James and Phillips for Steffen Yeates.

A scrappy scramble in the TT box minutes later saw Obod collect the ball on the top left and loft a shot in on goal which bounced off the crossbar and out.

With TT working hard trying to close the Saudi attack down, Justin Garcia was forced to make a goal-line clearance seconds later, after another disorganised series of events in front Phillip’s goal.

Unluckily, substitute Fortune was fouled just ten minutes into his appearance and had to be replaced by Joevin Jones. With time running out, TT began to scramble for possession as their chance of securing a Gold Cup quarter-final spot slipped away.

James, up top, struggled to get the final shot off on an attack.

With seven minutes of second-half stoppage-time, the Warriors struggled to create goal-attacking chances.

Abdulhamid thought he made it 2-1 in the fifth minute of stoppage-time, but it was ruled offside. Seconds away from the final whistle, James played surging centre back Justin Garcia clear through on goal. However, the defender's shot beat the onrushing goalkeeper but blasted off the crossbar, quashing all of TT’s hopes of advancing.

At the final whistle, the TT players looked dejected.

The result saw TT finish third (two points) on the standings after losing their opening match to USA 5-0, and then drawing with Haiti and Saudi Arabia 1-1.

In the other Group D contest at AT&T Stadium in Texas, hosts USA beat Haiti 2-1.

USA topped the group with nine points while Saudi advanced with four. Haiti finished on one point.