Like the US, Trinidad & Tobago Won’t Be at the 2018 World Cup, But They’re the Only Ones Smiling About It · Global Voices
The World Cup 2010 <PERSON>. Photo by <PERSON>, CC BY-SA 2.0.
On the night of October 10, 2017, a sprinkling of football enthusiasts went to the Ato Boldon Stadium in central Trinidad to see a World Cup qualifier match between Trinidad and Tobago and the USA. The small Caribbean nation had absolutely no chance of going to Russia in 2018, but the United States did — if they managed a draw with Trinidad and Tobago's team.
One of the reasons football is the world's favourite sport is that, at its best, it's an unpredictable game. With just one goal, things can turn on a dime. So while the result of this particular match might have been dismissed as a foregone conclusion, what happened on the field was anything but. The match resulted in Trinidad and Tobago walking away with a 2-1 victory and the USA being driven off their #RoadToRussia.
Thanks to an unfortunate own goal by US defender <PERSON>, coupled with a brilliant strike from Trinidad and Tobago's <PERSON>, the twin island republic secured all three points in the round, leaving the USA team — and fans — shell-shocked.
Popular sports website Wired868 described it this way:
What came next was a right-footed screamer that arrowed into the far corner. It seemed to belong in an entirely different match and it certainly illuminated a contest that had, up to that point, been low-tempo and scrappy.
<PERSON>’s eyes opened as wide as saucers, the Trinidad and Tobago bench was in uproar and, all over CONCACAF, word of <PERSON> (<PERSON>) spread like wildfire; the United States were in trouble at 0-2 down.
A November to remember
With the USA down, the spirits of Trinbagonian supporters were up, mostly because of a date that will be forever burned into their memory: November 19, 1989. This is when Trinidad and Tobago's national team, then affectionately known as The Strike Squad, had the World Cup within their sights for the first time ever. Had they simply drawn with the US in that all-important match, the team would have been the first from an English-speaking Caribbean nation to qualify. Trinidad and Tobago lost that match 1-0 and the nation was devastated. 910
Curiously, the 30,000+ spectators were later given the FIFA Fair Play Award for their good behaviour when faced with such disappointment and overcrowding, which was little consolation.
Nine years later, in France, Jamaica's Reggae Boyz would become the first to represent the English-speaking Caribbean on the World Cup stage. Even though Trinidad and Tobago's World Cup dreams eventually came true when the twin island nation qualified for Germany 2006, the memory of that 1989 qualifier against the USA is still a sore point.
In that context, it is understandable how October 10, 2017 might be interpreted as a comeuppance. Like Trinidad and Tobago back in 1989, the US only needed a draw to be assured a spot. Twenty-eight years later, it was their turn to feel the sting of defeat. It is the first time since 1986 that the US will not be participating in the World Cup.
Bring on the schadenfreude
The site TTWhistleBlower could not resist gloating, despite the Soca Warriors’ (as the national team is now called) underwhelming performance throughout the qualifying matches. It also noted the poetic justice of the goal that assured Trinidad and Tobago's victory:
For Trinidad and Tobago, it was a happy ending to an otherwise disappointing tournament where they ended last on the six-team table. The Warriors won just two matches out of 10. […]
It was 2-1 in the 36th minute when <PERSON> smashed a swerving shot from the right flank past <PERSON>. <PERSON>’s father <PERSON> was a member of the national team which failed to qualify in 1989.
Disgraced former FIFA vice president, <PERSON>, who hails from Trinidad and Tobago, was also quite happy to rub salt in the wound.
While some social media users were critical of all the rejoicing, <PERSON> tried to explain the enjoyment surrounding Trinidad and Tobago's victory:
[The] argument is that we didn't qualify so what's the big deal. […] Of course that's the larger context, and we're in far worse a state than the US team. I don't think amusement at us eliminating the US (and the reactions to it) and recognising the depressing state of our local football (and much else on the home front) are mutually exclusive. 910