GREECE-BASED striker Levi Garcia says he and the Soca Warriors are ready to put on a show for the public in the opening game of their Fifa 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign versus Grenada at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo from 7.30 pm on June 5.
Coach Angus Eve’s Trinidad and Tobago men’s football team are in group B for the first round of Concacaf qualifying alongside Bahamas, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis and six-time World Cup participants Costa Rica. After facing the 174th-ranked Grenada, Eve’s charges will face the 200th-ranked Bahamas on the road on June 8.
On June 3, both Eve and Soca Warriors captain Aubrey David spoke about the importance of the team’s first two matches in their quest to seal the country’s second-ever appearance at the World Cup. Speaking to the TT Football Association (TTFA) media on June 4, Garcia also weighed in on the value of starting on the front foot.
“As you know, we have our opening match against Grenada in a World Cup qualifier. I’m encouraging you guys to come out and give us support and be the 12th man,” Garcia said.
The 26-year-old AEK Athens forward has been in fine form in the last two seasons. In the just-concluded season, the bustling forward shrugged off injury worries to score 14 goals in all competitions as AEK finished second in the league – just missing out on defending their title. In the 2022/23 season, Garcia bagged 18 goals in all competitions to help AEK to a domestic double.
For TT, though, Garcia’s niggling injuries kept him out of contention for most of the team’s 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League A campaign. Garcia missed the entire group stage as the Soca Warriors progressed to the Nations League A knockout phase for the first time.
Garcia then turned out in the first leg of a 3-0 quarterfinal loss to eventual champs US, but was ruled out for the return leg after aggravating an injury. The Soca Warriors won the second leg 2-1 thanks to goals from Alvin Jones and Reon Moore, but they lost 4-2 on aggregate.
Garcia played in the Soca Warriors’ Copa America play-in against Canada in March, and he shouldered most of the blame for a pair of missed opportunities in the team’s 2-0 loss. Faced with a new task, Garcia is ready to make amends. “It feels really great to be back home. It’s been a while I haven’t played in front of my home fans. I’m a bit excited to see you guys on Wednesday so hopefully we can deliver and give you guys a good show.”
With TT’s maiden appearance at the World Cup coming at the 2006 edition in Germany, both David and Eve believe the squad has a chance to unite the country. Concacaf powerhouses Canada, Mexico and the US are joint-hosts for the 2026 World Cup, which has been expanded to 48 teams.
The host nations aside, Concacaf has been allotted three automatic qualification spots for the tourney, to go along with two intercontinental playoff spots.
The 33-year-old David, who currently plies his trade at CS Cartagines in the Costa Rican top flight, spoke of the significant improvement World Cup participation has done
