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World Cup - Trinidad & Tobago

Dwight Yorke. Can he score goals like he did for Man U? That's what's great about the World Cup. A small country can forget about their worries for a month, or at least not think of them too much, and become united behind their team. They don't have four professional sports leagues or numerous attractions to sway their attention. This is it. This is their World Cup - all TVs will be showing soccer on the island.

Soca Warriors ride the rhythm to Germany.

Just a few short months ago, you would have been hard pushed to find anybody willing to gamble on Trinidad and Tobago making it through to their first FIFA World Cup™. However, that did not stop this tiny Caribbean nation of just 1.1 million people from overcoming the odds and the weight of history to earn a well-deserved place at football's high table.
After having got the better of the Dominican Republic in the first group series, the Caribbean side were grouped with the mighty Mexicans in the next phase. They may have gone on to lose both games against their more illustrious rivals, but the islanders were still able to make it through to the 'Hexagonal' final qualifying stage thanks to wins over neighbours St Kitts and Nevis, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Even following these valuable victories, few people fancied T&T's chances of progressing from a group that included the United States, Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala.

A terrible start to the final qualifying stage saw Trinidad and Tobago pick up just one point from their first three matches, a paltry total which seemed to confirm the fans' worst fears and saw morale in the camp plummet to a new low. However, the arrival on Caribbean shores of experienced Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker, in place of Bertille St Clair, breathed new life into T&T's campaign, reviving the team's fortunes.

The new coach got off to the best possible start with a 2-0 win over Panama before seeing his side put in a great performance against Mexico. The game may have ended in a 2-0 defeat for the Soca Warriors, but the commitment shown augured well for Beenhakker's new charges. A narrow 1-0 defeat in the USA was followed by a nail-biting 3-2 win over direct rivals Guatemala. A further 2-0 reverse at the hands of Costa Rica in San Jose meant that T&T went into their final game against CONCACAF superpowers Mexico needing to record a historic win. Against all the odds, they took three priceless points securing a 2-1 triumph in Port of Spain to book their place in a play-offs with Bahrain.