Trinidad and Tobago national football team

At the 1973 CONCACAF Championship, Trinidad and Tobago fell two points short of qualifying for the 1974 World Cup Finals in controversial fashion. Trinidad and Tobago lost a crucial game on 4 December 1973 against hosts Haiti 2–1 after being denied five goals. The referee, José Roberto Henríquez of El Salvador, and Canadian linesman James Higuet were subsequently banned for life by FIFA for the dubious events of the match.[3][4][5]

Trinidad and Tobago came within one game of qualifying for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Nicknamed the "Strike Squad" during the qualifying campaign, Trinidad and Tobago needed only a draw to qualify in their final game played at home against the United States on 19 November 1989. In front of an over-capacity crowd of more than 30,000 at the National Stadium on "Red Day",[6] Paul Caligiuri of the United States scored the only goal of the game in the 38th minute dashing Trinidad and Tobago's qualification hopes.[7] For the good behaviour of the crowd at the stadium, despite the devastating loss and overcrowded stands, the spectators of Trinidad and Tobago were awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1989.[8]

Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, its first-ever qualification for the tournament. During their qualifying campaign, they sat at the bottom of the table in the final round of qualifying with one point from three. However, after the arrival of Leo Beenhakker as team coach and the recalling of veteran players Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy, Trinidad and Tobago reversed its fortunes and placed fourth in the group. They qualified via a play-off against Bahrain, recovering from a 1–1 draw at home to win 1–0 in Manama, Bahrain to book a place in the finals. As a result, Trinidad and Tobago became the smallest country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, a record they held until Iceland reached their first World Cup in 2018.

In Germany, Trinidad and Tobago were grouped with England, Sweden and Paraguay in Group B. They drew their first game 0–0 against Sweden despite going down to ten men early in the second half. They lost both their remaining matches against England and Paraguay by a 2–0 margin.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  England 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7  Sweden 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5  Paraguay 3 1 0 2 2 2 0 3  Trinidad and Tobago 3 0 1 2 0 4 −4 1

Team   Score   Team Trinidad and Tobago  0–0  Sweden England  2–0  Trinidad and Tobago Paraguay  2–0  Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago began their campaign in the second round against Bermuda. Trinidad and Tobago lost the first match 2–1 at home, but bounced back to win the away leg 2–0 to progress to the third round 3–2 on aggregate. The Soca Warriors entered Group 1 alongside the United States, Guatemala, and Cuba. They then progressed to the Hexagonal round, finishing second in the group with eleven points from six games. There they faced Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and the United States. The group began badly for Trinidad and Tobago as they drew 2–2 with El Salvador after leading 2–0, and then drew 1–1 with Honduras. Three consecutive losses, to the United States, Costa Rica and Mexico, put the Soca Warriors in last place with two points from five matches. After defeating El Salvador 1–0, they suffered further losses to Honduras and the United States the following month, ending their hopes of qualifying, and they eventually finished bottom of the group.

Trinidad and Tobago entered qualification for the 2014 World Cup in the second round as a seeded team, with Guyana, Bermuda and Barbados also drawn in Group B. The Soca Warriors defeated Bermuda (1–0) and Barbados (2–0) in their first two matches. However, on 7 October 2011, they lost away to Bermuda in Devonshire Parish 2–1.[9] The team recovered four days later by defeating Barbados 4–0 in the Hasely Crawford Stadium with a hat-trick from Lester Peltier.[10] Entering the final two matches in the Second Round, Trinidad and Tobago were in second place, behind Guyana by one point. As only the group winners would advance to the third round, the Soca Warriors needed to take four points in the two matches against Guyana to advance. Trinidad and Tobago first traveled to Providence, Guyana to face the Golden Jaguars on 11 November 2011. With an early goal from Ricky Shakes and another from Leon Cort in the 81st minute, Trinidad and Tobago trailed 2–0 and faced elimination. Kenwyne Jones pull a goal back in the 93rd minute, but the match ended 2–1 to Guyana.[11] On 12 January 2012, Otto Pfister was sacked after the country's earliest exit from World Cup qualification since 1994.[12]

Trinidad and Tobago entered qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the fourth round and were drawn into Group C with Guatemala, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States. The team finished second in the group with 11 points to qualify for the Hexagonal. However, they finished in sixth place in the final round with only six points, even though they eliminated the United States from World Cup contention with a 2–1 victory in the final match.

Hasely Crawford Stadium became the home of the national team in 1980

For the first eighty years of their existence, Trinidad and Tobago played their home matches all around the country with Queen's Park Oval, generally thought of as the most picturesque and largest of the old cricket grounds in the West Indies, as the most often used venue.[13] The cricket ground served as the country's largest stadium until the new National Stadium was built in Mucurapo, Port of Spain, to host the nation's athletics competitions and international football matches.

The stadium later was renovated and renamed after Hasely Crawford, the first person from Trinidad and Tobago to win an Olympic gold medal, prior to Trinidad and Tobago hosting the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship. The stadium currently has a seating capacity of 23,000 and is owned by the Trinidad and Tobago government and managed through the Ministry of Sport via its special purpose state agency called SporTT.[14]

In recent years, the TTFA have hosted matches at the smaller 10,000 seat Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, citing a problem with the lighting system at Hasely Crawford Stadium, lower expenses for matches at Ato Boldon, and fans being seated closer to the pitch.[15] Trinidad and Tobago hosted two games during "The Hex" in late 2017. They lost to Honduras 1–2 on 1 September 2017. On 10 October 2017, Trinidad and Tobago defeated the United States 2–1, causing the United States to fail to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. Ato Boldon Stadium has since hosted friendlies against Grenada, Guyana, and Panama.

Soca Warriors' supporters before the team's opening 2006 World Cup match against Sweden

The major supporters' group for the national team is the Soca Warriors Supporters Club or the "Warrior Nation". The group is a non-profit organisation that is independent of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association. Formed shortly after Trinidad and Tobago secured qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the supporters' club was organised by Soca Warriors Online founder Inshan Mohammed and Nigel Myers.

The group's activities include promoting teams locally and globally, lobbying the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association as representatives of football fans, advocating fair pricing and allocation of event tickets, organising travel for fans to home and away matches, providing a family-oriented fans' organisation, and promoting football among the young people of Trinidad and Tobago.

Trinidad and Tobago first appeared at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Soca Warriors finished bottom of the group with one point from the team's three matches. Even though the team did not advance in the competition, Trinidad and Tobago recorded its first point from the FIFA World Cup after a 0–0 draw to Sweden in its first match.

Trinidad and Tobago failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup between 1966 and 2002, then again in 2010 to 2018.

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter										Did not enter
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966	Did not qualify										4	1	0	3	5	12
1970											4	1	1	2	4	10
1974											9	6	1	2	27	8
1978											6	2	2	2	10	9
1982											4	1	2	1	1	2
1986											4	0	1	3	2	7
1990											12	5	5	2	13	6
1994											4	2	1	1	7	4
1998											8	2	1	5	15	10
2002											22	10	4	8	32	28
2006	Group stage	27th	3	0	1	2	0	4	Squad		20	11	2	7	30	25
2010	Did not qualify										18	5	5	8	22	30
2014											6	4	0	2	12	4
2018											16	5	2	9	20	28
2022	To be determined										To be determined
2026
Total	Group stage	1/21	3	0	1	2	0	4			138	55	28	55	200	183

FIFA World Cup history
First Match	Trinidad and Tobago 0–0 Sweden  (10 June 2006; Dortmund, Germany)
Biggest Win	—
Biggest Defeat	England 2–0 Trinidad and Tobago  (15 June 2006; Nuremberg, Germany)  Paraguay 2–0 Trinidad and Tobago  (20 June 2006; Kaiserslautern, Germany)
Best Result	Group stage (2006)
Worst Result	—

CONCACAF Championship 1963–1989, CONCACAF Gold Cup 1991–present

CONCACAF Championship / CONCACAF Gold Cup record

Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1963	Did not enter
1965	Withdrew
1967	Round-robin	4th	5	2	0	3	6	10	Squad
1969	Round-robin	5th	5	1	1	3	4	12	Squad
1971	Round-robin	5th	5	1	2	2	6	12	Squad
1973	Round-robin	2nd	5	3	0	2	11	4	Squad
1977	Did not qualify
1981
1985	Group stage	7th	4	0	1	3	2	7	Squad
1989	Round-robin	3rd	8	3	3	2	7	5	Squad
1991	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	3	4	Squad
1993	Did not qualify
1996	Group stage	7th	2	0	0	2	4	6	Squad
1998	Group stage	6th	2	1	0	1	5	5	Squad
2000	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2	6	8	Squad
2002	Group stage	10th	2	0	1	1	1	2	Squad
2003	Did not qualify
2005	Group stage	10th	3	0	2	1	3	5	Squad
2007	Group stage	11th	3	0	1	2	2	5	Squad
2009	Did not qualify
2011
2013	Quarter-finals	6th	4	1	1	2	4	5	Squad
2015	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	2	0	10	6	Squad
2017	Did not qualify
2019	Group stage	14th	3	0	1	2	1	9	Squad
2021	To be determined
Total	Runners-up	16/25	62	17	15	30	75	105

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup history
First Match	Honduras 2–0 Trinidad and Tobago  (5 March 1967; Tegucigalpa, Honduras)
Biggest Win	Trinidad and Tobago 4–0 Mexico  (14 December 1973; Port-au-Prince, Haiti)  Trinidad and Tobago 4–0 Netherlands Antilles  (17 December 1973; Port-au-Prince, Haiti)
Biggest Defeat	Trinidad and Tobago 0–6 Haiti  (28 November 1971; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago)  United States 6–0 Trinidad and Tobago  (22 June 2019; Cleveland, United States)
Best Result	Runners-up (1973)
Worst Result	Group stage (1985, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2019)

The following 23 players were named to the squad for the friendly against United States on January 31, 2021. Goals and caps are updated as of 31 January 2021, after the match against United States.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Marvin Phillip	(1984-08-01) 1 August 1984	79	0	Unattached
22	1GK	Adrian Foncette	(1988-10-10) 10 October 1988	11	0	Police
2	2DF	Justin Garcia	(1995-10-26) 26 October 1995	1	0	Defence Force
3	2DF	Federico Peña	(1999-03-30) 30 March 1999	1	0	Valour FC
4	2DF	Josiah Trimmingham	(1996-12-14) 14 December 1996	2	0	Forward Madison
5	2DF	Leland Archer	(1996-01-08) 8 January 1996	1	0	Charleston Battery
6	2DF	Noah Powder	(1998-10-27) 27 October 1998	1	0	Real Salt Lake
12	2DF	Jamal Jack	(1987-12-17) 17 December 1987	3	0	Sacachispas
15	2DF	Neveal Hackshaw	(1995-11-21) 21 November 1995	14	0	Indy Eleven
16	2DF	Alvin Jones	(1994-07-09) 9 July 1994	26	1	Unattached
19	2DF	Jesse Williams	Unknown (age 18)	0	0	Coleraine
8	3MF	Dre Fortune	(1996-07-03) 3 July 1996	3	0	Unattached
10	3MF	Duane Muckette	(1995-07-01) 1 July 1995	2	0	Unattached
13	3MF	Michel Poon-Angeron	(2001-04-19) 19 April 2001	1	0	Banfield
14	3MF	Matthew Woo Ling	(1996-09-15) 15 September 1996	3	0	AC Port of Spain
18	3MF	Ajani Fortune	(2002-12-30) 30 December 2002	1	0	Atlanta United 2
20	3MF	Hashim Arcia	(1998-10-08) 8 October 1998	11	1	Defence Force
23	3MF	Jonathan Jimenez	(1997-12-17) 17 December 1997	0	0	Unattached
7	4FW	Ryan Telfer	(1994-03-04) 4 March 1994	7	3	Unattached
9	4FW	Brent Sam	(1996-04-18) 18 April 1996	0	0	Defence Force
11	4FW	Jabari Mitchell	(1997-05-01) 1 May 1997	1	0	Police
17	4FW	Sean Bonval	(1996-03-07) 7 March 1996	1	0	Central FC
21	4FW	Gary Griffith III	(2002-10-22) 22 October 2002	0	0	Coleraine

The following players have been called to the squad in the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Michael DeShields	(1998-04-23) 23 April 1998	0	0	New England Revolution II	v.  United States, 31 January 2021PRE