Final Roster named for Nations League clashes vs Cuba
Final Roster named for Nations League clashes vs Cuba
Senior Men’s Team Caretaker Coach Derek King on Saturday announced a 23-man roster for this country’s two upcoming Concacaf Nations League match away to Cuba on October 10th and in Bacolet, Tobago on October 14th.
Following a home-based training camp, King finalized his squad for the two crucial encounters which sees the return of former captain Kevin Molino and Joevin Jones, who are both back in mix after last representing T&T at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Also included is Toronto FC’s forward Tyrese Spicer. AEK Athens forward Levi Garcia is not available, having just returned to play from injury. Garcia was a 66th minute substitute in AEK’s match against Panetolikos on Saturday. The club requested that the player be excused from international duty at this time.
The local contingent departs Piarco International on Sunday and the full squad will assemble in Santiago on Monday morning with King’s first training session scheduled for Monday afternoon.
In the previous meeting between the two teams in Cuba, T&T were 3-1 winners in a 2010 World Cup qualifier played in 2008 in Havana. T&T would go on to win the return qualifier 3-0 in Port of Spain. T&T also won the 2015 Gold Cup meeting 2-0 while Cuba were 1-0 winners when both nations met in the 2012 Caribbean Cup final in Antigua.
In League A, the 12 matches that will be played in October will determine the four teams (group winners and runners-up) that will join Concacaf’s four top-ranked teams – Canada, Mexico, Panama, and the United States (listed alphabetically) – in the Quarterfinals, as well as the third and fourth-place finishers and fifth and sixth-place finishers that will progress to the 2025 Gold Cup Prelims and CNL Play-In, respectively.
The CNL Quarterfinals will be played in a home-and-away format in November 2024, with the aggregate score winner in each matchup advancing to the 2025 Concacaf Nations League Finals and qualifying for the 2025 Gold Cup. The Quarterfinal losers will advance to the 2025 Gold Cup Prelims.
CNL Quarterfinal pairings will be determined based on the Concacaf Rankings as of October 2024 (after the FIFA Window) and the Group Stage results, as follows:
QF1: Fourth-ranked seeded team vs Best first place (1A/1B)
QF2: Third-ranked seeded team vs Next first place (1A/1B)
QF3: Second-ranked seeded team vs Best second place (2A/2B)
QF4: Best-ranked seeded team vs Next second place (2A/2B)
The CNL Play-In will take place in November 2024, and the Gold Cup Prelims will be in March 2025
