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Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team head coach Derek King is targeting a Concacaf Nations League A quarterfinal berth, after the Soca Warriors received their Group A fixtures—which pits them against Curaçao, Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the September and October match windows.
The Soca Warriors start their 2026/27 CNL campaign on the road against Haiti on 24 September before they host the Dominican Republic, four days later, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain.
(via MSN.)
The two-island republic then face Curaçao twice in October—first at Willemstad on 2 October, before closing the group stage against the same opposition at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on 6 October.
The Warriors avoided top ranked Group A team, Costa Rica, but should take little for granted with three games against 2026 World Cup opposition. King took a positive view.
“Our objective is straightforward—we want to put ourselves in a position to qualify for the quarterfinals,” King told TTFA Media. “That starts with being fully prepared for Haiti and ensuring we’re ready to make the most of our home matches.
Photo: Reuters.
“We’ll continue working hard over the coming weeks to have the team in the best possible condition.”
Trinidad and Tobago were relegated from the CNL League A, under coach Dennis Lawrence, in the first edition of the tournament in 2019. The Warriors drew twice with Martinique and lost to Honduras by a goal aggregate of 6-0 in that campaign.
However, they were promoted straightaway under coach Angus Eve and advanced to the quarterfinal of the 2023-24 tournament, with wins over Curaçao, El Salvador and Guatemala.
In 2024/25, Trinidad and Tobago did just enough to avoid relegation, under then interim head coach, King. The Warriors lost 4-0 to Honduras in their opener, but subsequently recorded draws against French Guiana and Cuba before a 3-1 home triumph over Cuba preserved their status in the top tier competition.
King is hoping to better his previous campaign this time around and make it to the knockout round. Almost certainly, he would be rewarded with a new contract if he does so.
Photo: TTFA Media.
At present, the Soca Warriors are in Louisville for an exhibition match against second division club, Louisville City FC.
“We’ve had a number of valuable opportunities to work with the players over the past few months,” said King, “and now the focus shifts to performing when the competitive matches begin. Every game in this group will be challenging, but we believe we have a squad capable of competing.”
When Trinidad and Tobago face Haiti, which would be at a neutral venue, the team will be on an eight-match winless streak, which started under King’s predecessor, Dwight Yorke.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868.
The Warriors’ last international win was away to Bermuda on 10 October 2015, in a 2026 World Cup qualifier. Since then, T&T drew with Curaçao (1-1), Jamaica (1-1) and Bermuda (2-2) under Yorke before suffering four defeats (against Bolivia, Venezuela, Republic of Korea and Russia) and a penalty shoot-out loss against Gabon, after a 2-2 draw, with King at the helm.
The record for the longest winless streak by a national coach stands at 14 under Lawrence, who went from 14 October 2018 to 14 October 2019 without a victory.
Lawrence’s run included defeats to Thailand, Iran, Wales, Canada, Panama, USA, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduras, Venezuela and the Mexico Under-23 Team, along with draws against Japan, Guyana, and Martinique (twice).
(Copyright AP Photo/ Arnulfo Franco.)
Lawrence’s winless streak was snapped with a record 15-0 win over Anguilla, the lowest ranked football nation in the world at the time—in a hastily arranged friendly by then TTFA president David John-Williams.
The Warriors subsequently failed to win their next four games under Lawrence, and, when William Wallace replaced John-Williams as the local football president, the coach was sacked.
King cannot record the first international win of his current spell as head coach this weekend, as the Louisville outing is not a full international game. But he is upbeat about his chances of getting the job done when it counts, as Trinidad and Tobago hope to remain in the company of Concacaf’s top football nations.
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Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.
