Despite falling to a surprise 5-3 loss to the relegated Curacao in Willemstad, Curacao on Tuesday night, the Trinidad and Tobago's men's football team were able to book a spot in the quarter-finals of the 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League A campaign where they will meet Concacaf powerhouse, USA.
Needing only a point in their group A encounter at the Ergilio Hato Stadium to secure a quarter-final spot, TT were stunned by the hosts who managed their lone victory in this Nations League A campaign. Thankfully for coach Angus Eve and his Soca Warriors, third-placed Martinique weren't able to cash in on TT's slip as they played to a goalless draw away to El Salvador.
In the end, Panama (ten points), who recorded a 3-0 victory over Guatemala on Tuesday, finished atop the group to guarantee their quarter-final spot. TT had their three-game winning streak snapped and finished on nine points – qualifying for the Nations League quarter-finals for the first time. Martinique finished the group on seven points. Guatemala finished in fourth spot on four points. Curacao (three points) and El Salvador (one point) brought up the rear of the group and will be relegated to Nations League B for the next edition.
TT emerged as the best second-placed team in the Nations League A group stages, as Honduras amassed seven points in group B to run second to table-toppers Jamaica (ten points). In their Nations League A quarter-finals home-and-away tie on November 16 and 20, coach Angus Eve's TT team will face the US outfit which hammered the Soca Warriors by a 6-0 margin at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup on July 2. The first leg will be played in Austin, Texas, with the venue for the return leg in TT still to be determined. The US are ranked 11th in the Fifa rankings. TT are ranked 98th.
A total of six Concacaf teams will play in an expanded Copa America 2024 tournament – South America's marquee continental competition. The winners of the four Nations League A quarter-final ties will qualify directly for Copa 2024, which begins in June next year. The four losing Nations League A quarter-finalists will have a second chance at booking a prestigious Copa spot via a single-match playoff in March.
"We did our job. I think the campaign was a huge success," Eve told TT Football Association (TTFA) media after the Curacao match. "Nobody expected us to be where we were for the final game and now we have qualified to play in the quarter-finals of the (Nations League). This is a rebuilding process we're going through and there are going to be days where we will have our ups and downs."
In Willemstad, the TT team took their fans on an emotional roller-coaster on their quest to get to the quarter-finals. Similar to their dramatic 3-2 win over Guatemala on October 13, TT fell behind by a 2-0 margin in the first half versus a rampant opposing team. Eve tried to change the course of the game at the half, as he made three substitutions and changed from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a 5-3-2 shape.
Curacao added a third item before TT could find their proper f
