Nothing changes: Yorke preaches focus ahead of Curacao clash

TRINIDAD and Tobago men's football team coach Dwight Yorke praised the mentality and attitude of his players after their Fifa 2026 World Cup qualifying victory away to Bermuda in Devonshire on October 10, and said that same mindset must be applied to their upcoming qualifier away to Curacao.

TT got their first win of Concacaf's final World Cup qualifying round, and their 3-0 result over Bermuda consolidated third spot in group B as they moved up to four points. There is little time for TT to bask in that win, though, as they will now take on new group B leaders Curacao at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curacao from 7 pm on October 14.

Curacao defeated Jamaica 2-0 on October 10 to jump the group summit with seven points from three matches, with Jamaica (six points) slipping to second. A victory over Curacao in the coming days will see TT strengthen their position in the group and will spark a three-team race for the lone automatic qualifying spot for next year's World Cup.

The three group winners in Concacaf's final round will qualify automatically for the World Cup, with the two-best second-placed teams going into the Fifa intercontinental playoff.

"We came in here with one goal in mind, which was to get three points, and we've managed to do that. We can only control what's in front of us...nothing changes," Yorke told TT Football Association media after the victory away to Bermuda.

"Our mindset and goal remain the same. We know whenever we go into Curacao, that's always going to be a challenging game for us, and we need to be at our best. Going in there with three points behind us gives us that additional confidence. Let's not take the focus away. This game and whatever game we play against Curacao, we need to be at our best, and that will be the case."

In the build-up to the Bermuda match, Yorke said this TT team was the squad he's "been trying to inherit for a long time." And although Bermuda had a promising start with their veteran captain Nakhi Wells getting off a couple of early shots, TT took control by the end of the first half after goals by in-form Major League Soccer wingers Dante Sealy and Tyrese Spicer. Stand-in TT captain Levi Garcia was also a handful. And although the Russian-based forward didn't find the target, he looked a threat whenever he was isolated with the Bermuda defenders and also created his team's opener.

Early in the second half, TT effectively killed off the game when Kobi Henry nodded in his first international goal in the 49th minute after a long-range Sealy free kick was palmed into his path.

"I think it was all about mentality and the attitude. I've said it before...if we apply ourselves correctly, we (were) always likely to be in the game," Yorke said.

"I'd like to see a little more killer instinct in terms of our decisions and really taking those opportunities once they're created. I thought overall we worked well. There are still some areas we could obviously improve. But if you told me I was going to come to Bermuda and win 3-0 and certainly not concede any goals, I would have been very delighted about it."

Yorke commended the leadership qualities of the 21-year-old Henry, who only made his TT debut last month in the goalless draw with Curacao in Trinidad. Though in the embryonic stages of his international career, Henry has seamlessly fit into Yorke's team at centre back and cuts quite a composed figure.

"Kobi has been excellent since he joined us. He's shown he's a real leader, someone who's vital to our team, so we made sure that he would gain a lot of confidence after getting his first goal. I'm delighted for the whole team entirely and of course for the country as well."

Though Yorke felt his team could have been more clinical in front of goal, he was happy with their professional showing in what was a must-win scenario. He also gave kudos to midfielder Molik Khan and Dutch-born right back Deron Payne, who made his TT debut with a 20-minute cameo.

He said it was important for Khan and Payne to wet their feet in a "real high-competitive" environment.

"What we're doing is continuing to build a squad and you could see competition for places is really going to be intense going into these few games ahead of us. This is just another step in the right direction to keep building this squad to make sure we're competing on all fronts.

"We got the result we wanted. We have to dust ourselves down and refocus ourselves on Curacao in the next coming days."