FORT LAUDERDALE, United States, CMC – Head coach Angus Eve acknowledged Trinidad and Tobago would now have to refocus following their belated inclusion for the group stage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The Caribbean side was readying themselves for a qualification battle in the Gold Cup preliminaries beginning here Friday. Still, it was granted direct entry to the confederation showpiece after Nicaragua was tossed from the tournament for fielding an ineligible player in the Nations League.
According to CONCACAF, T&T secured their group stage spot “by them being the team with the highest points (overall) in League B of 2022/23 [CONCACAF Nations League not to have qualified to the 2023 Gold Cup Prelims.”
They have been installed in Group A, which comprises powerhouses United States and Caribbean Football Union giants Jamaica, along with yet-to-be-determined qualifiers from the preliminaries.
“It was mixed emotions because the fellas are eager to represent the country,” Eve said.
“The first day of training, we were buzzing. All the boys are here, entirely focused and here for the job.
“Now we have to refocus our energies, and the prize for hard work is more hard work because we’re now in a tough group.
“But that’s where we want to be, that’s where we were aspiring to be, and that’s where we are now, and we just want to take this opportunity to continue representing our country correctly.”
T&T drew 1-1 with Nicaragua in their crucial final Nations League game in Tobago last March, which saw them finish behind the Central Americans in Group C to miss out on Gold Cup qualification.
In June last year, T&T suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Nicaraguans in Managua.
As a result of CONCACAF’s sanction against Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago will also replace them in League A, with the Central American side slipping into League B.
“The general feeling is one of great content and achievement for achieving something like this for our country,” Eve continued.
“When we started the Nations League, the objective was to qualify for the Gold Cup proper and for the ‘A’ Nations League, which would give us automatic qualification for the Gold Cup and allow us to qualify for the CONMEBOL Cup.
“So it was deflating when we drew that match in Tobago.”
Following the qualifiers from June 16-20 at the DRV PNK Stadium, the Gold Cup will run from June 24 to July 16.
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