MIAMI, Florida – Trinidad and Tobago have been installed in a difficult Group A, following their qualification for the group stages of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but are energized by the prospect of returning to the continental grouping’s top flight.
Trinidad and Tobago celebrate after winning their penalty shootout against French Guiana.They beat French Guiana in a thrilling penalty shootout in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, to join Haiti and Guadeloupe in clinching the last remaining spots in the biennial showpiece which kicks off on Saturday.
Haiti trounced Bermuda 4-1 while Guadeloupe also needed a dramatic penalty shootout to edge Guatemala in the 12-team qualifying tournament.
T&T will now line up against reigning champions reigning champions and continental powerhouses, Mexico, along with Central American side El Salvador who are ranked 69th in FIFA and Curaçao, who are ranked two places lower.
As such, T&T are the lowest-ranked side in the group at 103rd but head coach Angus Eve said the challenge was one his side would be embracing.
“This was our goal coming here because we had a very short space of time to prepare,” said the former national star, who was appointed last month on an interim basis.
“We just came out of a failed World Cup campaign and there are a lot of emotions in our dressing room at this point in time, because we’re doing this for our country and not just for us.
“Of course, we’re going [up] against Mexico but that’s where we want to be. We want to be playing against the best teams in the region to keep testing ourselves and proving ourselves.
“This is our rebuilding and we just want to go into that and enjoy the group stage.”
Trinidad will open their campaign against the Mexicans at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, meaning the Caribbean side will be playing three games in just nine days.
They will then travel just under an hour to Frisco to face El Salvador next Wednesday before wrapping up their group stage assignments on July 18 against Curaçao at the same venue.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.
Eve said despite the hectic schedule involved, it was critical T&T prepared themselves properly, especially after the emotional highs of the qualification tournament in Fort Lauderdale.
“Tournament football is usually four days apart. We just have to pick ourselves up emotionally,” Eve stressed.
“I think the guys are drained so we’ll just have to give them a bit of relaxation and then move on.”
Meanwhile, Haiti will join Group B and play alongside United States, Canada and fellow French Caribbean side Martinique while Guadeloupe will feature in Group C with Caribbean powerhouses Jamaica, Costa Rica and Suriname.
The Gold Cup wraps up August 1 with the final scheduled for Allegiant Stadium just outside Las Vegas.
GROUPS:
GROUP A: Mexico, El Salvador, Curaçao and Trinidad and Tobago
GROUP B: USA, Canada, Martinique and Haiti
GROUP C: Costa Rica, Jamaica, Suriname and Guadeloupe
GROUP D: Honduras, Panama, Grenada and Qatar
