Despite their tough and fatal 2-1 loss to Costa Rica in their second match of the CONCACAF qualifying series for the under-20 World Championship which eliminated them from the competition, the young "Soca Warriors" are going all out for a win against Panama tonight in their final Group A match.
The loss means the second in as many games for
Trinidad and Tobago, and a win tonight against Panama will not be
enough to take them through.
But National Under-20 coach Alvin Corneal feels that the team still have a lot to play for in their final game at the Home Depot Centre, Carson, California.
"The upcoming game against Panama, we have to give it everything, we have to do our best," he told the Sunday Express yesterday.
"We'll put in a couple of new players, to let them get some experience. We have to give some players exposure and see how close we can keep the game."
Although they have failed to earn a point in the final round of the tournament, Corneal is optimistic his team can return home with a win under their belt.
"They (Panama) are very similar to Costa Rica in a lot of their game. I think player for player, they are better than Costa Rica. They are probably the biggest team in terms of players (size). They have something to play for, we have to play the game for pride and for our nation."
Looking back on Friday's Costa Rican encounter, Corneal felt his team were unfortunate not to get a point from the match.
"It was a much better showing (than on Wednesday). We were probably unlucky not to draw the game, when the Costa Ricans were defending for their lives. I thought we were a lot better and unlucky to get another goal.
"When they (the players) realised that a goal would have kept us in the World Cup campaign, that is what disappointed them the most. We didn't get the run of luck our way, but we have to learn our lesson."
T&T were set back from as early as the eighth minute when Franklin Chacon fired the ball from a Windell Gabriel pass into the back of the net from six metres out after an initial save from T&T custodian Thorne Holder.
Costa Rica doubled their advantage through an Alonzo Salazar 62nd minute free kick, which took a deflection off the wall and beat Holder for a 2-0 scoreline.
T&T, after some intense late pressure on the Costa Rican defence, were able to pull one back off the head of Kendall Jagdeosingh in the 85th, after a Randhanfah Abu Bakr header rebounded off the crossbar from an Atullah Guerra corner kick. But they could not find the equaliser in the dying minutes.
For Panama to advance, they must now defeat T&T by three clear goals in tonight's fixture.
The United States made certain of qualification for the World finals in the second match, scoring a 2-0 win over Panama.
Striker Freddy Adu placed his penalty kick under the crossbar in the 55th after Will John was fouled by Panama's Jose Venegas. Jacob Peterson sealed the match in the 90th with a strike from within the 18-metre box.