Phillip, Molino shine as 10-man T&T advance, despite 2-1 loss to Costa Rica

The Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team are through to the third and final Concacaf World Cup qualifying round, despite falling 2-1 to Costa Rica last night in a tense affair at the Estadio Nacional in San José.

The month of June was always going to reveal much about Trinidad and Tobago’s rookie international coach Dwight Yorke, an iconic former footballer, and his troops.

Last night, the Soca Warriors showed they were no pushovers.

Denied the services of first choice custodian Denzil Smith through a training ground knock, Yorke then lost central defender Josiah Trimmingham to an injury during the warm up. By the second half, Trinidad and Tobago were down to 10 players, as Alvin Jones was ejected for a second bookable offence.

Yet Costa Rica could do no better than the slender margin of victory. And, at the final whistle, Trinidad and Tobago were defeated—but not disgraced.

“We just continue building—[with] a lot of hard work, a lot of determination,” said Trinidad and Tobago captain Kevin Molino, after the match. “[…] We just want to continue and make our fans and family back home proud.”

Grenada could only scrape a 3-2 win over Saint Kitts and Nevis in the other Group B match tonight, which meant Trinidad and Tobago needed to lose by seven goals to be eliminated.

Such a lopsided result never seemed likely. But, as things tend to go against Los Ticos, it did get a bit nervy at times.

Yorke might have been surprised to be asked about the absence of defender Aubrey David by a Costa Rican journalist in the build-up to last night’s qualifier. But an even better question might have been why there were so few central defenders in his squad at all.

Remarkably, in a 26-man squad, Yorke had only two specialist central defenders—Trimmingham and Sheldon Bateau—along with another two players who could fill in as cover, Jones and Darnell Hospedales.

At the other end, Yorke had eight players competing for three spots in his front-line.

It was, to be generous, a top-heavy selection. And when Trimmingham pulled up lame during the pre-match warm up, Yorke had a dilemma. Or did he?

Trinidad and Tobago were playing a back three; and he had exactly three available defenders. However, Hospedales had a horrid outing last Friday against Saint Kitts and Nevis—albeit while playing as a left back and not a left-sided central defender.

Regardless, Yorke opted to start Rio Cardines at right wingback instead with Isaiah Garcia in his back three alongside Jones and Bateau.

For the first 20 minutes, it scarcely mattered. Trinidad and Tobago, with captain Kevin Molino pulling the strings in the midfield and Tyrese Spicer in a bullish mood down the left, looked more than a match for the hosts.

The visitors might have had an early goal too, as defender Sheldon Bateau’s header off an Ajani Fortune corner kick struck the outside of the post in the fourth minute.

From the 12th minute of play, over 25,000 Costa Rican supporters whistled in frustration—and the cacophony continued for about 10 minutes, as they begged their players to do something about the ambitious Warriors.

Then, out of nothing, Los Ticos struck.

Trinidad and Tobago forward Dante Sealy was on the wrong side of Costa Rica defender Francisco Calvo, as he made a half-hearted attempt to chip in with the defensive work. And Calvo, with space, delivered a pinpoint cross to fellow defender Jeyland Mitchell who somehow popped up in the opposing box to thump home a header in the 22nd minute.

Warriors goalkeeper Marvin Phillip made a fine double save to deny attacking midfielder Josimar Alcocer and forward Warren Madrigal in the 26th minute. And, three minutes later, the 40-year-old veteran dived low to keep out a header from forward Manfred Ugalde.

But he could do nothing about Madrigal’s close-range finish in the 37th minute, as Costa Rica sliced their way through the T&T side with a slick passing move.

Isaiah Garcia, asked to play in central defence rather than his usual full back role, would not want to see a clip of his defensive positioning in that move.

Costa Rica supporters were cheering every pass by then and things looked ominous. At the interval, Molino called his players together in centre field and delivered an assessment of the affair so far—before they met the coaching staff in the dressing room.

Yorke, no doubt aided by assistant Russell Latapy, made the tactical adjustment at halftime that helped offer the two-island republic a way back into the match.

Hospedales came in on the left side of the back three, with Garcia (I) moving to right wingback while Bateau and Jones slid to the central defender and right side defender role respectively.

Further upfield, Sealy was withdrawn for bustling midfielder Noah Powder as Trinidad and Tobago bulked up the midfield area with four central players behind the lone striker, Levi Garcia.

The toast of Port of Spain last Friday, Sealy was the first player to be hooked four days later. Yorke is not afraid to be ruthless when he deems it necessary. Veteran utility player Joevin Jones, who did not even get a spot on the bench, could testify to that too.

The impact of Yorke’s tactical adjustment was almost immediate.

But, make no mistake, Trinidad and Tobago’s resistance started with the guile and composure of Molino, the defiance of Phillip and his almost-namesake Daniel Phillips in central midfield, the experience of Bateau and the bravery of Garcia (L) upfront.

In the first half, Trinidad and Tobago had five shots to nine from Costa Rica. But none were on target for the visitors, while the hosts got five on frame.

Within seconds of the restart, Powder got his team’s first shot on goal after a lay off from Phillip. And Levi did better yet in the 57th minute as he ran on to a well-weighted pass from Molino and—finally!—kept his composure to pick a spot.

Remarkably, it was Levi’s first goal against a serious football nation in 46 appearances spread across nine years. His previous goals came against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (3), Barbados (3), Guyana (2) and Saint Kitts and Nevis (1).

Hopefully, he will add a few more notable notches to his tally at the 2025 Gold Cup when Trinidad and Tobago face USA, Haiti and Saudi Arabia.

By then, the Costa Rican defenders had taken to systematically fouling Levi whenever he threatened to turn. Mexican referee Daniel Quintero did not issue a single card for those offences, even as Calvo and company literally dragged the Spartak Moscow attacker to the ground.

“How many times?!” Yorke could be heard shouting from the touchlines. “How many times does he do it [without being booked]?!”

Yorke replaced Phillips in the second half, as the powerful midfielder was cautioned for inadvertently stepping on Alcocer in a mistimed attempt to win the ball.

Jones also had a booking. But, as mentioned earlier, Yorke was short of defenders. And, in the 75th minute, Quintero flashed a second yellow card at Jones after the defender also mistimed a tackle.

By the letter of the law, Jones had to go. But, equally, there was little malice in the tackle from the Trinidadian and the Mexican official could easily have warned him instead.

It was the first red card shown to a Trinidad and Tobago player since Powder was sent off against USA in Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal on 16 November 2023.

Still, even a player short, Trinidad and Tobago would not concede again.

Phillip had a lot to say about that—as he acrobatically clawed away an inadvertent header at his own goal by Hospedales, and then pushed a Mitchell effort on to the bar.

At the final whistle, Costa Rica coach Miguel Herrera took the three points at stake and also advanced to the next stage with a 100 percent record.

But, make no mistake, he knew they were in a proper game.

Yorke should still have momentum on his side as Trinidad and Tobago head to the United States for the Gold Cup. Back home, the enthusiasm continues to grow.

(Teams)

Trinidad and Tobago (3-4-1-2): 1.Marvin Phillip (GK); 3.Isaiah Garcia, 16.Alvin Jones, 5.Sheldon Bateau; 17.Rio Cardines (2.Darnell Hospedales 46), 8.Daniel Phillips (7.Steffen Yeates 68), 19.Ajani Fortune, 13.Tyrese Spicer; 10.Kevin Molino (captain) (18.Andre Rampersad 82); 15.Dante Sealy (23.Noah Powder 46), 11.Levi Garcia (9.Nathaniel James 82).

Unused substitutes: 21.Jabari St Hillaire (GK), 22.Denzil Smith (GK), 6.Andre Raymond, 12.Isaiah Leacock, 14.Wayne Frederick II, 20.Real Gill.

Coach: Dwight Yorke.

Costa Rica (3-5-2): 1.Keylor Navas (GK) (captain); 3.Jeyland Mitchell, 4.Juan Pablo Vargas (5.Fernan Faerron 50), 15.Francisco Calvo; 22.Carlos Mora, 16.Alejandro Bran, 14.Orlando Galo, 20.Josimar Alcocer (19.Kenneth Vargas 85), 8.Joseph Mora; 17.Warren Madrigal (7.Andy Rojas 77), 9.Manfred Ugalde (21.Alvaro Zamora 85).

Unused substitutes: 18.Alexandre Lezcano (GK), 23.Patrick Sequira (GK), 2.Santiago van der Putten, 6.Alexis Gamboa, 10.Christopher Nunez, 11.Ariel Lassiter, 12.Kenay Myrie, 13.Jefferson Brenes, 22.Guillermo Villalobos.

Coach: Miguel Herrera.

Referee: Daniel Quintero (Mexico).

2026 World Cup qualifier

(10 June 2025)

Costa Rica 2 (Jeyland Mitchell 22, Warren Madrigal 37), Trinidad and Tobago 1 (Levi Garcia 57) at San Jose.