Soca or sugar—which is sweeter?
That question will be answered this evening at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, where Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors face the Sugar Boys of St Kitts and Nevis (SKN), in a high-stakes Group B World Cup qualifying encounter. Kick-off is scheduled for 7.30 p.m.
T&T (four points) will be eyeing all three points tonight before a potentially decisive final match away to Costa Rica, on Tuesday.
The Soca Warriors are currently second in the group, trailing the Costa Ricans (six points), and ahead of third-placed Grenada only on goal difference, with tonight’s game against SKN in hand. St Kitts and Nevis remain in contention with three points, ahead of their final two matches against T&T tonight and Grenada on Tuesday.
Despite a lopsided record against T&T, the visitors arrived in Port of Spain with quiet confidence. After collecting three points from a 1-0 win over the Bahamas and suffering a 4-0 defeat to Costa Rica, SKN remain in contention—and see tonight’s clash as a chance to cause an upset.
Sugar Boys coach Austin “Dico” Huggins believes that earning even a point against T&T would be a massive step forward towards World Cup qualification.
“Even a draw, and then we come back home and play Grenada—we have to win that one (against Grenada),” Huggins has said, while remaining hopeful of an even better result tonight.
“We’ve added the overseas players—I think it’s about seven or eight —so we are now at full strength and ready to take on the might of Trinidad and Tobago,” he added.
With St Kitts and Nevis still having strong hopes of reaching the final round, T&T head coach Dwight Yorke does not expect the visitors to lie down.
“We will be preparing for a very tough game,” stated Yorke.
“We know that they are going to be difficult. It’s going to be a difficult game in every aspect. We need to be at our best. We need to perform,” he added.
Although on paper, the match looks like one T&T should win, Yorke is prepared for the visitors to dig in and be difficult. Still, the T&T coach has his eyes fixed firmly on the bottom line—that is taking full points tonight and heading off to Costa Rica, in a strong position to finish among the top two and advance to the final round of qualifying.
“We need a result at home. We have the home advantage,” he added. “St Kitts-Nevis is not going to be like (just playing) any other team. We know what is at stake.”
Huggins also does not think it will be a one-way fight, and is hoping his Sugar Boys can emulate Grenada, who left T&T with a 2-2 draw earlier in the campaign.
“We small, but we Tallawah,” Huggins has said. “I know we are going to do a good job in Trinidad.”
“It’s important that we get three points against Trinidad, in Trinidad,” Huggins stated. “It’s going to be like a carnival atmosphere, because we know Trinidad take football seriously and they’re going to have big crowd support.”
T&T enter the contest with history firmly on their side, having won their last nine matches against SKN. The most recent meeting came in 2023, when former head coach Angus Eve oversaw a comprehensive 3-0 victory in a CONCACAF Gold Cup preliminary round match in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
T&T striker Levi Garcia is likely one of the players SKN would most like to control, along with Ajani Fortune and Alvin Jones, both scorers in the last meeting between the teams.
Garcia suggested that the Soca Warriors needed to impose their will and dominate SKN, and treat the match as if it were their final game and a must-win encounter. He emphasised that the team should approach it with urgency and determination.
“We can see the goal, and the drive is to qualify,” Garcia said. “We know that we need to win this game and winning this game will decide everything for us.”
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Marvin Phillip (AC Port of Spain), Denzil Smith (AV Alta FC/USA), Jabari St Hillaire (Defence Force);
Defenders: Sheldon Bateau (SK Beveren/Belgium), Isaiah Garcia (Defence Force), Josiah Trimmingham (Montego Bay Utd/Jamaica), Darnell Hospedales (Montego Bay Utd/Jamaica), Alvin Jones (Deportivo Real Sociedad/Honduras), Andre Raymond (Dunfermline Athletuc/Scotland);
Midfielders: Ajani Fortune (Atlanta Utd/USA), Wayne Frederick II (Colorado Rapids/USA), Joevin Jones (Police FC), Kaihim Thomas (Defence Force), Kevin Molino (Defence Force), Daniel Phillips (Stevenage FC/England), Noah Powder (Westchester FC/USA), Andre Rampersad (HFX Wanderers/Canada), Steffen Yeates (York Utd/Canada)
Attackers: Rio Cardines (Crystal Palace U21’s/England), Levi Garcia (Spartak Moscow/Russia), Real Gill (Huntsville City/USA), Nathaniel James (Hearts of Pine/USA), Isaiah Leacock (Defence Force), Isaiah Lee (La Horquetta Rangers), Dante Sealy (CF Montreal/Canada), Tyrese Spicer (Toronto FC/Canada).
