Trinidad and Tobago 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.

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

Trinidad and Tobago
Nickname(s)Soca Warriors
AssociationTrinidad and Tobago Football Association
ConfederationCONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederationCFU (Caribbean)
Head coachTerry Fenwick
CaptainKhaleem Hyland
Most capsAngus Eve (117)
Top scorerStern John (70)
Home stadiumHasely Crawford Stadium
FIFA codeTRI
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 103 (10 December 2020)[1]
Highest25 (June 2001)
Lowest106 (October 2010)
First international
 British Guiana 1–4 Trinidad and Tobago 
(British Guiana; 21 July 1905)[2]
Biggest win
 Trinidad and Tobago 15–0 Anguilla 
(Arima, Trinidad and Tobago; 10 November 2019)
Biggest defeat
 Mexico 7–0 Trinidad and Tobago 
(Mexico City, Mexico; 8 October 2000)
 United States 7–0 Trinidad and Tobago 
(Orlando, Florida, United States; 31 January 2021)
World Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2006)
Best resultGroup stage (2006)
CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup
Appearances16 (first in 1967)
Best resultRunners-up (1973)

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 16 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 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 Association.

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.[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]

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

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 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 321052+37
 Sweden 312032+15
 Paraguay 31022203
 Trinidad and Tobago 301204−41
Team   Score   Team
Trinidad and Tobago  0–0  Sweden
England  2–0  Trinidad and Tobago
Paraguay  2–0  Trinidad and Tobago

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.

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 in 2010 to 2018.

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
1930 Did not enter Did not enter
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966 Did not qualify 4 1 0 3 5 12
1970 4 1 1 2 4 10
1974 9 6 1 2 27 8
1978 6 2 2 2 10 9
1982 4 1 2 1 1 2
1986 4 0 1 3 2 7
1990 12 5 5 2 13 6
1994 4 2 1 1 7 4
1998 8 2 1 5 15 10
2002 22 10 4 8 32 28
2006 Group stage 27th 3 0 1 2 0 4 Squad 20 11 2 7 30 25
2010 Did not qualify 18 5 5 8 22 30
2014 6 4 0 2 12 4
2018 16 5 2 9 20 28
2022 To be determined To be determined
2026
Total Group stage 1/21 3 0 1 2 0 4 138 55 28 55 200 183

CONCACAF Gold Cup
Main article: Trinidad and Tobago at the CONCACAF Gold Cup

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

CONCACAF Championship / CONCACAF Gold Cup record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
1963Did not enter
1965Withdrew
1967Round-robin4th5203610Squad
1969Round-robin5th5113412Squad
1971Round-robin5th5122612Squad
1973Round-robin2nd5302114Squad
1977Did not qualify
1981
1985Group stage7th401327Squad
1989Round-robin3rd833275Squad
1991 Group stage 5th 3 1 0 2 3 4 Squad
1993 Did not qualify
1996 Group stage 7th 2 0 0 2 4 6 Squad
1998 Group stage 6th 2 1 0 1 5 5 Squad
2000 Third place 3rd 4 2 0 2 6 8 Squad
2002 Group stage 10th 2 0 1 1 1 2 Squad
2003 Did not qualify
2005 Group stage 10th 3 0 2 1 3 5 Squad
2007 Group stage 11th 3 0 1 2 2 5 Squad
2009 Did not qualify
2011
2013 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 1 2 4 5 Squad
2015 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 2 0 10 6 Squad
2017 Did not qualify
2019 Group stage 14th 3 0 1 2 1 9 Squad
2021 To be determined
Total Runners-up 16/25 62 17 15 30 75 105

CONCACAF Nations League
CONCACAF Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2019−20 A C 4 0 2 2 3 9 11th
2022–23 B To be determined
Total 4 0 2 2 3 9 11th

Caribbean Cup
Caribbean Cup record
Year Result Pld W D L GF GA Squad
1989Champions7502215Squad
1990Abandoned[upper-alpha 1]211050Squad
1991Runners-up5302125Squad
1992Champions5500142Squad
1993Third place52121010Squad
1994Champions5410174Squad
1995Champions5401213Squad
1996Champions5500132Squad
1997Champions421193Squad
1998Runners-up5401186Squad
1999Champions5500194Squad
2001Champions5401133Squad
2005Third place8602228Squad
2007Runners-up5311136Squad
2008Group stage311144Squad
2010Group stage310213Squad
2012Runners-up522165Squad
2014Runners-up422074Squad
2017Did not qualify
Total 18/19 86 59 10 17 225 77

Schedule and results

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

2021
31 January 2021 Friendly United States  7–0  Trinidad and Tobago Orlando, Florida
20:00 (UTC−4)
Report Stadium: Exploria Stadium
Referee: Said Martinez (Honduras)
25 March 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying Trinidad and Tobago  v  Guyana Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium
28 March 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying Puerto Rico  v  Trinidad and Tobago Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Stadium: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium
5 June 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying Bahamas  v  Trinidad and Tobago Nassau, Bahamas
Stadium: Thomas Robinson Stadium
8 June 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying Trinidad and Tobago  v  Saint Kitts and Nevis Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Stadium: Hasely Crawford Stadium
July 2021 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifying Trinidad and Tobago  v  Montserrat United States

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 friendly against United States on January 31, 2021. Goals and caps are updated as of 31 January 2021, after the match against United States.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Marvin Phillip (1984-08-01) 1 August 1984 79 0 Unattached
22 1GK Adrian Foncette (1988-10-10) 10 October 1988 11 0 Police
2 2DF Justin Garcia (1995-10-26) 26 October 1995 1 0 Defence Force
3 2DF Federico Peña (1999-03-30) 30 March 1999 1 0 Valour FC
4 2DF Josiah Trimmingham (1996-12-14) 14 December 1996 2 0 Forward Madison
5 2DF Leland Archer (1996-01-08) 8 January 1996 1 0 Charleston Battery
6 2DF Noah Powder (1998-10-27) 27 October 1998 1 0 Real Salt Lake
12 2DF Jamal Jack (1987-12-17) 17 December 1987 3 0 Sacachispas
15 2DF Neveal Hackshaw (1995-11-21) 21 November 1995 14 0 Indy Eleven
16 2DF Alvin Jones (1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 26 1 Unattached
19 2DF Jesse Williams Unknown (age 18) 0 0 Coleraine
8 3MF Dre Fortune (1996-07-03) 3 July 1996 3 0 Unattached
10 3MF Duane Muckette (1995-07-01) 1 July 1995 2 0 Unattached
13 3MF Michel Poon-Angeron (2001-04-19) 19 April 2001 1 0 Banfield
14 3MF Matthew Woo Ling (1996-09-15) 15 September 1996 3 0 AC Port of Spain
18 3MF Ajani Fortune (2002-12-30) 30 December 2002 1 0 Atlanta United 2
20 3MF Hashim Arcia (1998-10-08) 8 October 1998 11 1 Defence Force
23 3MF Jonathan Jimenez (1997-12-17) 17 December 1997 0 0 Unattached
7 4FW Ryan Telfer (1994-03-04) 4 March 1994 7 3 Unattached
9 4FW Brent Sam (1996-04-18) 18 April 1996 0 0 Defence Force
11 4FW Jabari Mitchell (1997-05-01) 1 May 1997 1 0 Police
17 4FW Sean Bonval (1996-03-07) 7 March 1996 1 0 Central FC
21 4FW Gary Griffith III (2002-10-22) 22 October 2002 0 0 Coleraine

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
DF Michael DeShields (1998-04-23) 23 April 1998 0 0 New England Revolution II v.  United States, 31 January 2021PRE

Records
As of 17 November 2019[16]
Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.

Managers

Honours

Major competitions

Minor competitions

  • Third place (1): 2013

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. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  2. Trinidad and Tobago – List of International Matches
  3. Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Warriors set to give them all in Germany, Guardian UK. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  4. Football: Carnival time and the Trinis are up for the party, The Independent. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  5. Trinidad Express – Haitian robbery: Trinidad and Tobago cheated W/Cup spot, Socawarriors.net. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  6. Red-Day, Nov, 19, 1989, YouTube.com. Accessed: June 23, 2008.
  7. Pulse: Thank You Trinidad and Tobago Warriors Archived 17 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Trinidad Guardian. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  8. FIFA Fair Play Awards Archived 1 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine, FIFA.com. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  9. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ – Matches – Bermuda-Trinidad and Tobago – FIFA.com". FIFA.com.
  10. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™". FIFA.com.
  11. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™". FIFA.com.
  12. Inshan Mohammed. "Corneal appointed TTFF Technical Director, Otto Pfister axed". socawarriors.net.
  13. "Queen's Park Oval". Cricinfo Staff. 13 March 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "U.S.'s World Cup qualifier in Trinidad set for 10,000-seat stadium". ESPN. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  16. "Trinidad and Tobago  – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
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