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The Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team will get another opportunity to win their first game of 2026, when they face Antigua and Barbuda next month—with a chance to keep their 2027 Concacaf Gold Cup ambitions alive.
The Soca Warriors finished second from bottom in their group in League A of the Concacaf Nations League and were relegated to League B, while Antigua and Barbuda squeaked past Aruba on the final match day to advance from League C, the lowest tier of Concacaf, on goal difference.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
Trinidad and Tobago are ranked 105th in the world by Fifa, at present, while Antigua and Barbuda are 162nd.
The two Caribbean nations will now square off in a home-and-away tie in November, with the winner moving on to the Gold Cup Prelims. There, another home-and-away match-up awaits with the winner qualifying for the group stage of the Gold Cup.
Already booked in the Prelims are: Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Suriname (the third and fourth placed finishers from League A), Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and French Guiana (the runners-up from League B).
The Play-In winners from Martinique v Aruba, El Salvador v Saint Martin, Nicaragua v Montserrat, and Trinidad and Tobago v Antigua and Barbuda will join them.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
So too are the losing quarterfinalists from two-legged Nations League ties featuring: Panama v Curaçao, Canada v Guatemala, United States v Haiti, and Mexico v Jamaica.
If there are no upsets and Trinidad and Tobago get to the Gold Cup Prelims, seeding based on rankings means the Soca Warriors are likely to face either Suriname or Curaçao, again, to qualify for the confederation’s showcase competition for the third successive time.
Coach Derek King has stated his desire to take the national team to the Gold Cup, which would require a renewal from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA)—as he was given a one-year contract, earlier this year.
King must manage his maiden wins first, in his 10th and 11th games in charge, as the Soca Warriors lock horns with Antigua and Barbuda.
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