T&T World Cup qualifiers
T&T finish with 2-2 draw at home to Bermuda
Trinidad and Tobago’s men’s football team had to settle for a draw in their closing FIFA2026 World Cup final round qualifier as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Bermuda at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on November 18 on a rainy night.
With T&T placed in group B for Concacaf’s final qualifying round alongside Curacao, favorites Jamaica and the cellar-placed Bermuda, the campaign promised a lot, but in the end, coach Dwight Yorke and his eager charges only had third place in the group to show for their efforts. T&T finished the group on seven points, with Curacao and Jamaica finishing on 12 and 11 points respectively, as the former booked their World Cup spot after a goalless draw in Kingston, Jamaica, also on November 18.
In Port of Spain , a Bermuda team which conceded seven goals in their previous match against Curacao didn’t lie down and play dead for the hosts, as they put together a solid performance to deny the hosts a farewell win to stalwarts Marvin Phillip and captain Kevin Molino.
After a bright start for the visitors, T&T took the lead in the ninth minute when defender Kobi Henry rose high to meet a lofted left-side free kick from Noah Powder.
T&T created many more chances in the first half, with flanker Real Gill getting the bulk of the opportunities as he was often isolated down the left. However, Bermuda goalie Milai Perott was in fine form and denied TT with a number of fine saves.
Similar to their first half start, Bermuda again started smartly in the second and were rewarded on the hour mark when Ne-jai Tucker finished off a left-side move with a close-range finish. Just four minutes later, Bermuda were in dreamland when Djair Parfitt steered a towering header from skipper and centre back Dante Leverock into the goal to give them a surprise lead on the road.
That goal supposedly spurred TT on, as forward Nathaniel James, who started in the number nine role in place of Levi Garcia, clinically slapped in a left-footed shot after a quick exchange in the final third in the 66th minute.
With TT desperately trying to give their adoring fans a late winner, substitute Wayne Frederick II was left cursing his luck when Perott pulled off a fantastic save after the former drilled a right-footer which looked destined to settle in the far corner.
At the final blow of referee Jose Torres’ whistle, TT’s qualifying campaign for the Fifa 2026 World Cup officially came to an end and it wasn’t the fairytale ending fans would have dreamed of whe the draw was made.
In the final round, T&T were only beaten once. However, home draws against Curacao (0-0), the Reggae Boyz (1-1) and now Bermuda (2-2), to go along with a 1-1 draw away ro the group winners Curacao, saw Yorke’s charges drawing four of their six matches in this phase.
And although T&T finished their home leg of qualifying matches unbeaten, four draws in their five home matches overall paint a picture of what could have been for the boys from the land of steelpan and calypso.
Yorke: I take full responsibility for my team
Head coach of the Trinidad and Tobago men’s senior football team Dwight Yorke is taking full responsibility for the performance of the team after his players fell short of their goal to qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
T&T played to a 1-1 draw with Jamaica at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on November 13, which was not enough to stay in contention for a spot at the World Cup next year, which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Jamaica and Curacao will battle for an automatic spot at the World Cup in the final round of Group B qualification on November 18. Jamaica must win, while Curacao only need a draw.
Simultaneously, TT will face Bermuda in a match for pride at the Hasely Crawford Stadium at 9 pm on November 18.
Yorke, who was hired in November 2024 with the aim of qualifying for the World Cup, is not putting the blame on anybody else. Speaking at a media conference ahead of the TT-Bermuda contest, Yorke said, “In hindsight, I am sure there are things in there somewhere you could have done differently. I always look at myself first rather than pointing the fingers at anyone else. I take full responsibility for the team, for how we play, how we go about (matches), what we try to do, our style of play. I am the one who makes those final decisions. I always tend to look at myself first.”
Yorke said he was satisfied with the effort of his players during the campaign. “Overall, I am proud of what we tried to achieve and the way we did it in such a short space of time.”
The former Manchester United star, who has six months left on his contract, knows his record as a coach will be examined in the coming weeks and months. “I am not delusional to the fact that results keep you in the job, results get you success and everybody wants a winning team in a short period of time, I can understand that.”
He felt he prepared the players as best as possible.
“I felt I got everything out of this team that I possibly can. We just came up a little bit short…we were maybe a win away (from qualifying). We had too many draws and not enough wins in the campaign and that possibly cost us a spot at the World Cup.”
The T&T coach asked the public to continue rallying behind the national team, especially with so many new players. “I think you can see this is the new era of T&T football. There are a lot of names and faces that a lot of people in T&T are not familiar with. I am very proud of the recruitment. The backroom staff has been able to come up with these names that the T&T public can now identify themselves with.”
Yorke and his coaching staff discovered many players with T&T heritage who were willing to play for the national team. US-based Kobi Henry and Dutch-based Deron Payne both formed part of the backline against Jamaica, while other players like English-based Rio Cardines and US-based Dante Sealy have settled down quickly into the team.
Despite having no chance of qualifying for the World Cup, Yorke said his players are ready to compete against Bermuda. “I don’t think I need to motivate my players…although there is a huge disappointment in the Jamaica game, my players spoke about it in length and we spoke about the standards that we try to set ourselves.”
