Trinidad_and_Tobago_national_football_team

Trinidad and Tobago national football team

Trinidad and Tobago national football team

National association football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Trinidad and Tobago women's national football team.

The Trinidad and Tobago national football team, nicknamed the "Soca Warriors", represents the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in international football. It is controlled by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, which is a member of CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football), the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), and the global jurisdiction of FIFA.

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The national team competes in the World Cup, Gold Cup, and the Nations League, as well as other competitions by invitation. The Soca Warriors' lone appearance at the FIFA World Cup came in 2006, after the team defeated Bahrain 2–1 on aggregate in the CONCACAF–AFC intercontinental play-off. The team has qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup on 18 occasions with their best performance in 2000, after reaching the semi-finals, finishing third. However, the national team did experience great success at the defunct Caribbean Cup, having won the sub-continental competition ten times and runners-up on seven occasions.

The separate Trinidad and Tobago national football teams are not related to the national team and are not directly affiliated with the game's governing bodies of FIFA or CONCACAF, but are affiliated with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association.

History

1970s

At the 1973 CONCACAF Championship, Trinidad and Tobago fell two points short of qualifying for the 1974 World Cup in controversial fashion. Trinidad and Tobago lost a crucial game on 4 December 1973 against hosts Haiti 2–1 after being denied five goals. The referee, José Roberto Henríquez of El Salvador, and Canadian linesman James Higuet were subsequently banned for life by FIFA for the dubious events of the match.[3][4][5]

1980s to 1990s: The Strike Squad

Trinidad and Tobago came within one game of qualifying for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Nicknamed the "Strike Squad" during the qualifying campaign, Trinidad and Tobago needed only a draw to qualify in their final game played at home against the United States on 19 November 1989. In front of an over-capacity crowd of more than 30,000 at the National Stadium on "Red Day",[6] Paul Caligiuri of the United States scored the only goal of the game in the 38th minute dashing Trinidad and Tobago's qualification hopes.[7] For the good behaviour of the crowd at the stadium, despite the devastating loss and overcrowded stands, the spectators of Trinidad and Tobago were awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1989.[8]

2000s

2006 FIFA World Cup

Main article: Trinidad and Tobago at the FIFA World Cup § 2006

Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, its first-ever qualification for the tournament. During their qualifying campaign, they sat at the bottom of the table in the final round of qualifying with one point from three. However, after the arrival of Leo Beenhakker as team coach and the recalling of veteran players Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy, Trinidad and Tobago reversed its fortunes and placed fourth in the group. They qualified via a play-off against Bahrain, recovering from a 1–1 draw at home to win 1–0 in Manama, Bahrain to book a place in the finals. As a result, Trinidad and Tobago became the smallest country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, a record they held until Iceland reached their first World Cup in 2018.

In Germany, Trinidad and Tobago were grouped with England, Sweden and Paraguay in Group B.They played their initial game, drawing 0–0 against Sweden, even though they were reduced to ten men early in the second half. They faced losses in their remaining matches against England and Paraguay, each by a 2–0 margin.

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2010s

2010 World Cup Cycle

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

Trinidad and Tobago began their campaign in the second round against Bermuda. Trinidad and Tobago lost the first match 2–1 at home, but bounced back to win the away leg 2–0 to progress to the third round 3–2 on aggregate. The Soca Warriors entered Group 1 alongside the United States, Guatemala, and Cuba. They then progressed to the Hexagonal round, finishing second in the group with eleven points from six games. There they faced Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and the United States. The group began badly for Trinidad and Tobago as they drew 2–2 with El Salvador after leading 2–0, and then drew 1–1 with Honduras. Three consecutive losses, to the United States, Costa Rica and Mexico, put the Soca Warriors in last place with two points from five matches. After defeating El Salvador 1–0, they suffered further losses to Honduras and the United States the following month, ending their hopes of qualifying, and they eventually finished bottom of the group.

2014 World Cup Cycle

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

Trinidad and Tobago entered qualification for the 2014 World Cup in the second round as a seeded team, with Guyana, Bermuda and Barbados also drawn in Group B. The Soca Warriors defeated Bermuda (1–0) and Barbados (2–0) in their first two matches. However, on 7 October 2011, they lost away to Bermuda in Devonshire Parish 2–1.[9] The team recovered four days later by defeating Barbados 4–0 in the Hasely Crawford Stadium with a hat-trick from Lester Peltier.[10] Entering the final two matches in the Second Round, Trinidad and Tobago were in second place, behind Guyana by one point. As only the group winners would advance to the third round, the Soca Warriors needed to take four points in the two matches against Guyana to advance. Trinidad and Tobago first traveled to Providence, Guyana to face the Golden Jaguars on 11 November 2011. With an early goal from Ricky Shakes and another from Leon Cort in the 81st minute, Trinidad and Tobago trailed 2–0 and faced elimination. Kenwyne Jones pull a goal back in the 93rd minute, but the match ended 2–1 to Guyana.[11] On 12 January 2012, Otto Pfister was sacked after the country's earliest exit from World Cup qualification since 1994.[12]

2018 World Cup Cycle

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

Trinidad and Tobago entered qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the fourth round and were drawn into Group C with Guatemala, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States. The team finished second in the group with 11 points to qualify for the Hexagonal. However, they finished in sixth place in the final round with only six points, even though they eliminated the United States from World Cup contention with a 2–1 victory in the final match.

Team image

Home stadium

Hasely Crawford Stadium became the home of the national team in 1980

For the first eighty years of their existence, Trinidad and Tobago played their home matches all around the country with Queen's Park Oval, generally thought of as the most picturesque and largest of the old cricket grounds in the West Indies, as the most often used venue.[13] The cricket ground served as the country's largest stadium until the new National Stadium was built in Mucurapo, Port of Spain, to host the nation's athletics competitions and international football matches.

The stadium later was renovated and renamed after Hasely Crawford, the first person from Trinidad and Tobago to win an Olympic gold medal, prior to Trinidad and Tobago hosting the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship. The stadium currently has a seating capacity of 23,000 and is owned by the Trinidad and Tobago government and managed through the Ministry of Sport via its special purpose state agency called SporTT.[14]

In recent years, the TTFA have hosted matches at the smaller 10,000 seat Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, citing a problem with the lighting system at Hasely Crawford Stadium, lower expenses for matches at Ato Boldon, and fans being seated closer to the pitch.[15] Trinidad and Tobago hosted two games during "The Hex" in late 2017. They lost to Honduras 1–2 on 1 September 2017. On 10 October 2017, Trinidad and Tobago defeated the United States 2–1, causing the United States to fail to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. Ato Boldon Stadium has since hosted friendlies against Grenada, Guyana, and Panama.

Supporters

Soca Warriors' supporters before the team's opening 2006 World Cup match against Sweden

The major supporters' group for the national team is the Soca Warriors Supporters Club or the "Warrior Nation". The group is a non-profit organisation that is independent of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association. Formed shortly after Trinidad and Tobago secured qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the supporters' club was organised by Soca Warriors Online founder Inshan Mohammed and Nigel Myers.

The group's activities include promoting teams locally and globally, lobbying the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association as representatives of football fans, advocating fair pricing and allocation of event tickets, organising travel for fans to home and away matches, providing a family-oriented fans' organisation, and promoting football among the young people of Trinidad and Tobago.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

27 March 2022–23 Nations League Trinidad and Tobago  1–1  Nicaragua Bacolet, Trinidad and Tobago
20:00 UTC−4
  • J. Jones 42'
 Report
Stadium: Dwight Yorke Stadium
Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
11 June Friendly Guatemala  0–1  Trinidad and Tobago Chester, United States
18:00 UTC−4 Report
Stadium: Subaru Park
Referee: Oliver Rodriguez (Panama)
25 June 2023 Gold Cup GS Trinidad and Tobago  3–0  Saint Kitts and Nevis Fort Lauderdale, United States
16:00 UTC−4
Report Stadium: DRV PNK Stadium
Attendance: 3,646
Referee: Said Martínez (Honduras)
28 June 2023 Gold Cup GS Jamaica  4–1  Trinidad and Tobago St. Louis, United States
18:30 UTC−5
Report
Stadium: CityPark
Attendance: 21,216
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
2 July 2023 Gold Cup GS United States  6–0  Trinidad and Tobago Charlotte, United States
19:00 UTC−4
Report Stadium: Bank of America Stadium
Attendance: 40,243
Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)
7 September 2023–24 Nations League Trinidad and Tobago  1–0  Curaçao Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
18:00 UTC−4
  • James 87'
 Report Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium
Referee: Daneon Parchment (Jamaica)
10 September 2023–24 Nations League El Salvador  2–3  Trinidad and Tobago San Salvador, El Salvador
20:00 UTC−6
Report
Stadium: Estadio Jorge "El Mágico" González
Referee: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica)
13 October 2023–24 Nations League Trinidad and Tobago  3–2  Guatemala Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
21:00 UTC−4
Report
Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium
Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)
17 October 2023–24 Nations League Curaçao  5–3  Trinidad and Tobago Willemstad, Curaçao
21:00 UTC−4
Report
Stadium: Ergilio Hato Stadium
Attendance: 1,043
Referee: Said Martínez (Honduras)
16 November 2023–24 Nations League United States  3–0  Trinidad and Tobago Austin, United States
20:00 UTC−6
Report Stadium: Q2 Stadium
Attendance: 19,850
Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)
20 November 2023–24 Nations League Trinidad and Tobago  2–1
(2–4 agg.)		  United States Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
20:00 UTC−4
Report
Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium
Attendance: 9,438
Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)
Note: United States won 4–2 on aggregate and qualified to the 2024 Copa América. Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the play-in.

2024

1 March Friendly Trinidad and Tobago  0–1  Jamaica San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
16:00 UTC−5 Stadium: Mannie Ramjohn Stadium
3 March Friendly Trinidad and Tobago  0–0  Jamaica
23 March 2024 Copa América qualifying play-offs Canada  2–0  Trinidad and Tobago Frisco, United States
16:00 ET (15:00 UTC−5)
Report Stadium: Toyota Stadium
Referee: Marco Ortíz (Mexico)
5 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Trinidad and Tobago  v  Grenada
--:-- UTC−4
8 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Bahamas  v  Trinidad and Tobago
--:-- UTC−4

2025

6 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Trinidad and Tobago  v  Saint Kitts and Nevis
--:-- UTC−4
10 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Costa Rica  v  Trinidad and Tobago
--:-- UTC−6

Coaching staff

More information Position, Staff ...

Managers

See also: Trinidad and Tobago national football team managers

Players

For all past and present players who have appeared for the national team, see Trinidad and Tobago national team players.

Current squad

The following 23 players were named to the squad for the 2024 Copa América qualifying play-offs match against Canada on March 23, 2024.[16]

Caps and goals are correct as of 7 September 2023, after the match against Curaçao.

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called to the squad in the last twelve months.

More information Pos., Player ...

Records

As of 20 November 2023[17]
Players in bold are still active with Trinidad and Tobago.

Most appearances

More information Rank, Name ...

Top goalscorers

Stern John is Trinidad and Tobago's all time top scorer with 70 goals.
More information Rank, Name ...

Competitive record

Further information: Trinidad and Tobago national football team cup results

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Trinidad and Tobago at the FIFA World Cup

Trinidad and Tobago first appeared at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Soca Warriors finished bottom of the group with one point from the team's three matches. Even though the team did not advance in the competition, Trinidad and Tobago recorded its first point from the FIFA World Cup after a 0–0 draw to Sweden in its first match.

Trinidad and Tobago failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup between 1966 and 2002, then again from 2010 to 2022.

More information FIFA World Cup, Qualification ...
More information FIFA World Cup history, First Match ...

CONCACAF Gold Cup

Main article: Trinidad and Tobago at the CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship 1963–1989, CONCACAF Gold Cup 1991–present

More information CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record, Qualification record ...
More information CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup history, First Match ...

CONCACAF Nations League

More information CONCACAF Nations League record, League phase ...
More information CONCACAF Nations League history, First Match ...

Caribbean Cup

More information CFU Championship & Caribbean Cup record, Qualification record ...
More information CFU Championship & Caribbean Cup history, First Match ...

Honours

Major competitions

Minor competitions

Friendly competitions

FIFA World Ranking

See also: FIFA World Rankings

Last update was on 23 December 2021 Source:[19]

  Best Ranking    Worst Ranking    Best Mover    Worst Mover  

More information FIFA World Ranking History, Rank ...

See also

Notes

  1. Play was suspended when Jamaat al Muslimeen attempted a coup d'état of the government of Trinidad and Tobago. The tournament was abandoned altogether after Tropical storm Arthur forced the cancellation of the final round of games. Trinidad and Tobago were to meet Martinique in the final.

References

General
Specific
  1. [1]
    "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. [2]
    "Trinidad and Tobago – List of International Matches". Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  3. [3]
    Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Warriors set to give them all in Germany Archived 19 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Guardian UK. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  4. [4]
    Football: Carnival time and the Trinis are up for the party, The Independent. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  5. [5]
    Trinidad Express – Haitian robbery: Trinidad and Tobago cheated W/Cup spot Archived 10 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Socawarriors.net. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  6. [6]
    Red-Day, Nov, 19, 1989 Archived 14 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine, YouTube.com. Accessed: June 23, 2008.
  7. [7]
    Pulse: Thank You Trinidad and Tobago Warriors Archived 17 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Trinidad Guardian. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  8. [8]
    FIFA Fair Play Awards Archived 1 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine, FIFA.com. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  9. [9]
    "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ – Matches – Bermuda-Trinidad and Tobago – FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2011.
  10. [10]
    "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014.
  11. [11]
    "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011.
  12. [12]
    Inshan Mohammed. "Corneal appointed TTFF Technical Director, Otto Pfister axed". socawarriors.net. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  13. [13]
    "Queen's Park Oval". Cricinfo Staff. 13 March 2007. Archived from the original on 4 February 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  14. [14]
    "Hasely Crawford Stadium". Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  15. [15]
    "U.S.'s World Cup qualifier in Trinidad set for 10,000-seat stadium". ESPN. 15 September 2017. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  16. [16]
    "𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧 23-𝙈𝙖𝙣 𝙍𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙥𝙖 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮-𝙄𝙣 𝙌𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙖 𝙤𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 23𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤". Trinidad and Tobago Football Association. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  17. [17]
    "Trinidad and Tobago  – Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  18. [18]
    "Cuba 1 Trinidad & Tobago 0". Soccerway. 16 December 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  19. [19]
    "Trinidad & Tobago in the FIFA World Ranking". Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
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