Trinidad and Tobago national football team

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Trinidad and Tobago
Nickname(s)The Soca Warriors
AssociationTrinidad and Tobago Football Association
ConfederationCONCACAF
(North America)
Sub-confederationCFU (Caribbean)
Head coachStephen Hart
CaptainKenwyne Jones
Most capsAngus Eve (117)
Top scorerStern John (70)
Home stadiumHasely Crawford Stadium
FIFA codeTRI
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current69 Decrease 1 (15 September 2016)
Highest25 (June 2001)
Lowest106 (October 2010)
First international
 British Guiana 1–4 Trinidad and Tobago 
(British Guiana; 21 July 1905)[1]
Biggest win
 Trinidad and Tobago 11–0 Aruba 
(Arima, Trinidad and Tobago; 23 April 1989)
Biggest defeat
 Mexico 7–0 Trinidad and Tobago 
(Mexico City, Mexico; 8 October 2000)
World Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2006)
Best resultGroup stage, 2006
CONCACAF Championship
& Gold Cup
Appearances15 (first in 1967)
Best resultRunners-up, 1973

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 and competes in both CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) and the Caribbean Football Union, its sub-continental confederation. The team is ranked 54th in the world according to the FIFA World Rankings, and 103rd in the World Football Elo Ratings. They reached the first round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup and currently holds the record of being the smallest nation (both in size and population) to ever qualify for a FIFA World Cup.

The national team competes in the FIFA World Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, in addition to the Caribbean Cup and 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 CONCACAFAFC intercontinental play-off. The team has qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup on eight occasions with their best performance in 2000 after reaching the semi-finals, finishing 3rd. However, the national team has experienced great success in the Caribbean Cup having won the sub-continental competition eight times and runners-up on five 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 Federation.

History

1970s

At the 1973 CONCACAF Championship, Trinidad and Tobago fell two points short of qualifying for the 1974 World Cup Finals 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.[2][3][4]

1980s to 1990s: The Strike Squad

Trinidad and Tobago came within one game of qualifying for the 1990 FIFA 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,[5] Paul Caligiuri of the United States scored the only goal of the game in the 38th minute dashing Trinidad and Tobago's qualification hopes.[6] 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.[7]

2000s

2006 FIFA World Cup

Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the 2006 FIFA 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 playoff 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.

In Germany, Trinidad and Tobago were grouped with England, Sweden and Paraguay in Group B. They drew their first game 0–0 against Sweden despite going down to ten men early in the second half. They lost both their remaining matches against England and Paraguay by a 2–0 margin.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 England 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7
 Sweden 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
 Paraguay 3 1 0 2 2 2 0 3
 Trinidad and Tobago 3 0 1 2 0 4 −4 1
Team   Score   Team
Trinidad and Tobago  0–0  Sweden
England  2–0  Trinidad and Tobago
Paraguay  2–0  Trinidad and Tobago

2010s

2010 World Cup Cycle

Trinidad and Tobago began their campaign in the Second Round with a home and away series against Bermuda. Trinidad and Tobago lost the first match at home 1–2, but bounced back to win the away leg in Bermuda 2–0 to progress to the third round 3–2 on aggregate. The Soca Warriors advanced to Group 1 of the Third Round alongside the United States, Guatemala, and Cuba. Trinidad and Tobago progressed to the Fourth Round by placing second in the group with eleven points from six games. This qualified Trinidad and Tobago for the Fourth Round, or Hexagonal, against Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States. The Fourth Round was also played in a home and away format among the six teams involved. Qualification quickly turned disastrous for Trinidad and Tobago as they tied 2–2 with El Salvador after leading 2–0. They would then tie 1–1 with Honduras following a late-strike. However, three consecutive losses to the United States, Costa Rica, and Mexico found the Soca Warriors bottom of the Hexagonal with two points from their first five matches. In their sixth match, they recorded their first win of the round by defeating El Salvador 1–0. However, the victory was short lived as they suffered losses to Honduras and the United States the following month; ending their hopes to qualify for the World Cup.

2014 World Cup Cycle

Trinidad and Tobago entered qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in the Second Round of CONCACAF as a seeded team with Guyana, Bermuda, and Barbados the other teams drawn in Group B. The Soca Warriors defeated Bermuda (1–0) and Bardados (2–0) in their first two matches to earn a full six points. However, on 7 October 2011, Trinidad and Tobago lost away to Bermuda in Devonshire Parish 2–1 to hurt its chances of advancing to the Third Round of qualification.[8] The team quickly rebounded four days later by defeating Barbados 4–0 in Hasely Crawford Stadium with a hat-trick from Lester Peltier.[9] Entering the final two matches in the Second Round, Trinidad and Tobago found itself in second place behind Guyana by one point. As only the group winner would advance to the Third Round of qualification, the Soca Warriors needed to take four points in the next two matches both facing 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 found itself behind 2–0 and facing elimination. Kenwyne Jones managed to pull the team within a goal in the 93rd minute, but it was too late as the match would end 2–1 in favor of Guyana.[10] With the loss, Trinidad and Tobago were officially eliminated from qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 12 January 2012, Otto Pfister was sacked following a disappointing campaign which saw the country's earliest exit from World Cup qualification since 1994.[11]

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.[12] 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.[13]

Supporters

Soca Warriors' supporters before the team's opening 2006 FIFA 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.

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 players were called up for the Caribbean Cup qualifying matches against Dominican Republic on October 5 and Martinique on October 11, 2016
Goals and caps are updated as of October 5, 2016 after the match against Dominican Republic.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Jan-Michael Williams (1984-10-26) 26 October 1984 (age 39) 73 0 Trinidad and Tobago Central
1GK Marvin Phillip (1984-08-01) 1 August 1984 (age 39) 59 0 Trinidad and Tobago Morvant Caledonia United
1GK Adrian Foncette (1988-10-10) 10 October 1988 (age 35) 3 0 Trinidad and Tobago Police

2DF Daneil Cyrus (1990-12-15) 15 December 1990 (age 33) 58 0 Trinidad and Tobago W Connection
2DF Joevin Jones (1991-08-03) 3 August 1991 (age 32) 56 6 United States Seattle Sounders
2DF Radanfah Abu Bakr (1987-02-12) 12 February 1987 (age 37) 32 2 Estonia Sillamäe Kalev
2DF Aubrey David (1990-10-11) 11 October 1990 (age 33) 31 1 United States FC Dallas
2DF Sheldon Bateau (1991-01-29) 29 January 1991 (age 33) 24 3 Russia Krylia Sovetov Samara
2DF Cordell Cato (1992-07-15) 15 July 1992 (age 31) 17 2 United States San Jose Earthquakes
2DF Mekeil Williams (1990-07-24) 24 July 1990 (age 33) 14 1 United States Colorado Rapids
2DF Tristan Hodge (1993-10-09) 9 October 1993 (age 30) 4 0 Canada Toronto FC II

3MF Khaleem Hyland (1989-06-05) 5 June 1989 (age 34) 65 4 Belgium Westerlo
3MF Andre Boucaud (1984-10-10) 10 October 1984 (age 39) 42 2 England Dagenham & Redbridge
3MF Kevin Molino (1990-06-17) 17 June 1990 (age 33) 35 16 United States Orlando City
3MF Kevan George (1990-01-30) 30 January 1990 (age 34) 24 0 United States Jacksonville Armada
3MF Jomal Williams (1994-04-28) 28 April 1994 (age 29) 7 1 Mexico Murciélagos
3MF Neveal Hackshaw (1995-09-21) 21 September 1995 (age 28) 6 0 United States Charleston Battery

4FW Kenwyne Jones (Captain) (1984-10-05) 5 October 1984 (age 39) 84 23 Trinidad and Tobago Central
4FW Shahdon Winchester (1992-01-08) 8 January 1992 (age 32) 13 1 Mexico Murciélagos
4FW Trevin Caesar (1989-04-26) 26 April 1989 (age 34) 10 3 United States Orange County Blues
4FW Levi Garcia (1997-11-20) 20 November 1997 (age 26) 7 2 Netherlands AZ

Recent call-ups

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

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Greg Ranjitsingh (1993-07-18) 18 July 1993 (age 30) 0 0 United States Louisville City v.  United States, 6 September 2016
GK Glenroy Samuel (1990-04-05) 5 April 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Trinidad and Tobago Morvant Caledonia United v.  China, 3 June 2016

DF Carlyle Mitchell (1987-08-08) 8 August 1987 (age 36) 31 0 South Korea Seoul E-Land v.  United States, 6 September 2016
DF Yohance Marshall (1986-01-22) 22 January 1986 (age 38) 14 1 Mexico Murciélagos v.  United States, 6 September 2016
DF Curtis Gonzales (1989-01-26) 26 January 1989 (age 35) 16 0 Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force v.  China, 3 June 2016
DF Andre Etienne (1990-11-09) 9 November 1990 (age 33) 3 0 Trinidad and Tobago Central v.  China, 3 June 2016
DF Weslie John (1991-07-29) 29 July 1991 (age 32) 2 0 El Salvador UES v.  China, 3 June 2016
DF Alvin Jones (1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 (age 29) 2 0 Trinidad and Tobago W Connection v.  China, 3 June 2016
DF Justin Hoyte (1984-11-20) 20 November 1984 (age 39) 18 0 Unattached v.  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 29 March 2016
DF Elijah Belgrave (1989-01-08) 8 January 1989 (age 35) 1 0 Trinidad and Tobago Police v.  Grenada, 19 March 2016
DF Jamali Garcia (1993-01-27) 27 January 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force v.  Grenada, 19 March 2016
DF Kevon Villaroel (1987-12-17) 17 December 1987 (age 36) 0 0 Trinidad and Tobago Central v.  Grenada, 19 March 2016
DF Gavin Hoyte (1990-06-06) 6 June 1990 (age 33) 2 0 England Barnet v.  Nicaragua, 13 October 2015

MF Hughtun Hector (1984-10-16) 16 October 1984 (age 39) 37 7 Trinidad and Tobago W Connection v.  United States, 6 September 2016
MF John Bostock (1992-01-15) 15 January 1992 (age 32) 0 0 France Lens v.  United States, 6 September 2016
MF Leston Paul (1990-03-11) 11 March 1990 (age 34) 9 0 Trinidad and Tobago Central v.  China, 3 June 2016
MF Sean de Silva (1990-01-17) 17 January 1990 (age 34) 7 0 Trinidad and Tobago Central v.  China, 3 June 2016
MF Nathan Lewis (1990-07-20) 20 July 1990 (age 33) 2 0 Trinidad and Tobago San Juan Jabloteh v.  China, 3 June 2016
MF Jason Marcano (1983-12-30) 30 December 1983 (age 40) 12 0 Trinidad and Tobago Central v.  Grenada, 19 March 2016
MF Nathaniel Garcia (1991-10-29) 29 October 1991 (age 32) 1 0 Trinidad and Tobago Central v.  Grenada, 19 March 2016
MF Akeem Humphrey (1995-11-25) 25 November 1995 (age 28) 0 0 Trinidad and Tobago Club Sando v.  Grenada, 19 March 2016
MF Lester Peltier (1988-09-13) 13 September 1988 (age 35) 36 6 Czech Republic 1. FK Příbram v.  Haiti, 8 January 2016
MF Keron Cummings (1988-08-25) 25 August 1988 (age 35) 14 3 Trinidad and Tobago North East Stars v.  United States, 17 November 2015
MF Aikim Andrews (1996-06-21) 21 June 1996 (age 27) 3 0 Trinidad and Tobago W Connection v.  Nicaragua, 13 October 2015

FW Willis Plaza (1987-08-03) 3 August 1987 (age 36) 23 7 Unattached v.  China, 3 June 2016
FW Marcus Joseph (1991-04-29) 29 April 1991 (age 32) 11 1 Trinidad and Tobago Central v.  China, 3 June 2016
FW Makesi Lewis (1989-01-08) 8 January 1989 (age 35) 3 0 Trinidad and Tobago Police v.  China, 3 June 2016
FW Jerwyn Balthazar (1982-12-17) 17 December 1982 (age 41) 1 0 Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force v.  Grenada, 19 March 2016
FW Ataullah Guerra (1987-11-14) 14 November 1987 (age 36) 40 6 United States Charleston Battery v.  Haiti, 8 January 2016
FW Jonathan Glenn (1987-08-27) 27 August 1987 (age 36) 6 1 Iceland Breiðablik v.  Haiti, 8 January 2016
FW Rundell Winchester (1993-12-16) 16 December 1993 (age 30) 4 0 Unattached v.  Haiti, 8 January 2016

Previous squads

Results and schedule

2016

8 January 2016 Copa América Centenario qualifying play-offs Trinidad and Tobago  0–1  Haiti Panama City, Panama
16:30 (UTC−4) Abu Bakr Yellow card 34' Report Mustivar Yellow card 7'
Alexandre Yellow card 59'
Millien 86'
Belfort Yellow card 86'
Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernández
Attendance: 15,696
Referee: David Gantar (Canada)
23 May 2016 Friendly Peru  4–0  Trinidad and Tobago Lima, Peru
Cueva 36'
da Silva 39'
Flores 50'
Benavente 90+3'
Report Stadium: Estadio Nacional
Referee: Luis Sanchez (Colombia)
27 May 2016 Friendly Uruguay  3–1  Trinidad and Tobago Montevideo, Uruguay
Cavani 26', 39'
Vecino 52'
Report Williams 7' Stadium: Estadio Centenario
Referee: Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)
6 September 2016 2018 FIFA World Cup Q United States  4–0  Trinidad and Tobago Jacksonville, United States
Kljestan 44'
Altidore 59', 63'
Arriola 71'
Report Stadium: EverBank Field
Attendance: 19,410
Referee: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica)

Records

As of 6 September 2016
Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.

Players with an equal number of caps are ranked in chronological order of reaching the milestone.

Most capped players

Rank Player Position Caps Goals Career[14]
1 Angus Eve
MF
117 34 1994–2005
2 Stern John
FW
115 70 1995–2011
3 Marvin Andrews
DF
102 10 1996–2009
4 Densill Theobald
MF
98 2 2002–2013
5 Dennis Lawrence
DF
89 5 2000–2010
6 Carlos Edwards
MF
88 4 1999–2013
7 Kenwyne Jones
FW
83 23 2003–
8 Clayton Ince
GK
79 0 1997–2009
9 Russell Latapy
MF
78 29 1988–2009
10 Arnold Dwarika
MF
74 28 1993–2009

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Position Goals Caps Rate Career[14]
1 Stern John
FW
70 115 0.61 1995–2011
2 Angus Eve
MF
34 117 0.29 1994–2005
3 Russell Latapy
MF
29 81 0.36 1988–2009
4 Arnold Dwarika
MF
28 73 0.38 1993–2009
5 Cornell Glen
FW
23 68 0.34 2002–2013
6 Kenwyne Jones
FW
23 83 0.28 2003–
7 Leonson Lewis
FW
22 36 0.61 1988–1996
8 Nigel Pierre
FW
22 56 0.39 1999–2005
9 Dwight Yorke
FW
19 74 0.26 1989–2009
10 Devorn Jorsling
FW
17 42 0.40 2007–

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Trinidad and Tobago first appeared at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and currently holds the record of being the smallest nation (both in size and population) to ever qualify for a 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 in 2010 and 2014.

* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. Darker color indicates win, normal color indicates lost.
** Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.
*** Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Managers

National team manager Stephen Hart
3

Honours

Continental competitions

2

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. ^ Trinidad and Tobago – List of International Matches
  2. ^ Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Warriors set to give them all in Germany, Guardian UK. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  3. ^ Football: Carnival time and the Trinis are up for the party, The Independent. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  4. ^ Trinidad Express – Haitian robbery: Trinidad and Tobago cheated W/Cup spot, Socawarriors.net. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  5. ^ Red-Day, Nov, 19, 1989, YouTube.com. Accessed: June 23, 2008.
  6. ^ Pulse: Thank You Trinidad and Tobago Warriors, Trinidad Guardian. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  7. ^ FIFA Fair Play Awards, FIFA.com. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  8. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ – Matches – Bermuda-Trinidad and Tobago – FIFA.com". FIFA.com.
  9. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™". FIFA.com.
  10. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™". FIFA.com.
  11. ^ Inshan Mohammed. "Corneal appointed TTFF Technical Director, Otto Pfister axed". socawarriors.net.
  12. ^ "Queen's Park Oval". Cricinfo Staff. 13 March 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  13. ^ http://sportt-tt.com/Facilities/HaselyCrawfordStadium.aspx
  14. ^ a b Inshan Mohammed (13 October 2012). "Goalscorers". Soca Warriors Online. Retrieved 13 October 2012.

External links