The Soca Warriors advanced to Group A of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup after a tensed 8-7 penalty shootout victory over French Guiana after drawing 1-1 in regulation time and whipping Montserrat 6-1 in their previous encounter.
The Soca Warriors will now be facing CONCACAF Stalwart Mexico on Saturday at 10pm at the AT&T Stadium in Texas. Then they will come up against El Salvador (July 14 – Toyota Stadium) and Curacao (July 18 – Toyota Stadium).
There were several celebratory videos of the contingent being circulated on social media after qualifying on Tuesday. This gave an indication to the high level of cohesiveness and bond between players and staff. The players have been oozing with confidence and passion since head coach Angus Eve took over the job from Terry Fenwick.
Former T&T Youth World Cup player, Curtis ‘Boyo’ Gonzales was full of praises for his teammates. “Kudos to the guys for the comradery in the camp right now, the vibe is very positive and that brotherhood going forward can do us great.” The scorer of the winning goal in the penalty shootout against French Guiana said he owed the goal to his country and teammates because he saw the fight in the eyes of his countrymen when he came on as a second-half substitute for T&T.
Also sharing similar sentiments to Gonzales was right back Alvin Jones who played the entire game for the second time in succession under Coach Eve.
Jones said, “With this group, we believe in each and every one. We give each and everyone their respect and you saw it in the penalty kicks. It’s an honour for us to qualify (for the groups) because the guys played their hearts out. It is our last chance of having any football playing this year so it was very important for us to get over that hurdle.”
An emotional Jones continued, “T&T we have done this for you, for all the fallen soldiers and all the people that are having a difficult time at the moment. We hope this can lift some kind of spirit for you all.”
Commenting on the teams that he will be facing in Group A, he said. “It is a very difficult group; it is something that we can get over. This is something we wanted as a group, now it is just for us to go and fight.”
