It will be the proverbial 'do or die' situation for T&T's Soca Warriors when the team squares off with host United States in a crucial CONCACAF Gold Cup Group D match at the First Energy Stadium in Cleveland Saturday night from 8 pm local time.
T&T will need a win to keep its chances of advancing out of the group alive. A draw, however, will mean T&T will have to whip Guyana by more than four clear goals in its final match while the Panamanians will have to defeat the US in their final game for T&T to have a mathematical chance of advancing. A loss will, of course, mean T&T will be out of the contention equation.
The calculations became necessary after the Warriors, went down to Panama 0-2 in their opening match, a result that landed coach Dennis Lawrence at the centre of media and public criticism.
For the US, a positive result matters for more reasons than one. Their key goal will be to seek revenge for a disappointing 2-0 loss to T&T two years ago at the Ato Boldon Stadium in a 2018 CONCACAF Zone final round World Cup qualifier, which dumped the Americans out the FIFA World Cup finals.
US midfielder Christian Pulisic acknowledged yesterday that beating T&T in Cleveland will not change anything, but told reporters he does want some revenge.
"I want to beat them. The team is going to go out and give it everything. We want to win that game,” Pulisic said.
T&T defender Alvin Jones, the man who scored the goal that sent the US packing back then, meanwhile said T&T also needed a win, although its significance was different for both sides.
“It’s just another game. It will not change our chances or their chances of going to the World Cup, but we need to win, it’s that simple,” Jones said.
T&T skipper Khaleem Hyland is fully aware of the situation and of the importance of his leadership and experience to the team.
“We know how critical this game will be. We just have to go out there and leave everything on the pitch. We all know what's at stake.
"The fans will be against us and America will be going all out to get a win. But we will not go in there and throw in the towel. For us, survival is the main thing and only a win will guarantee that,” Hyland said.
Lawrence, after conducting a one-hour session at the stadium yesterday, said, “It’s straightforward. There is a lot of history between both countries but as I said before, I want these boys to write their own history. We know what is in front of us and what needs to be done.”
T&T last met the US at the Gold Cup in 2007, losing 2-0. Prior to that, the teams met in the 1996 edition of the tournament and T&T opened the scoring through Arnold Dwarika but eventually lost 3-2 although Dwarika netted a double.