September 3, is “D Day” for the T&T football Warriors. The Guatemalans are coming to T&T knowing that a victory would see them vault to the 10-point barrier for the first time in World Cup qualifying.
This would mean that they would, in all likelihood, only need to earn a single point from their remaining three matches to secure one of the 3.5 berths available to teams from the Concacaf region ahead of next year’s World Cup finals in Germany.
Keep in mind that the football gods smiled broadly upon the Guatemalans in their last match against Panama on August 17.
Guatemala, after falling behind in the first half, not only managed to equalise but were somehow able to snatch victory three minutes into added-on-time.
That catapulted them to seven points to join the inconsistent Costa Ricans (although Guatemala leads on goal difference).
Obviously, a drawn result in that match would have been preferable for the T&T Warriors The CONCACAF World Cup standings now read:
STANDINGS
| Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| Mexico | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 16 |
| USA | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 15 |
| Costa Rica | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 7 |
| Guatemala | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| T&T | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| Panama | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
T&T have been eagerly awaiting the fixture on September 3 for two major reasons.
T&T must win the home matches against the so-called “weaker teams,” who in this case are Panama and Guatemala.
The Warriors have already achieved half of the equation by beating Panama 2-0 at the Hasley Crawford Stadium on June 4.
Secondly, the Warriors’ pride was badly bruised by the Guatemalans on March 26 in Guatemala City, when they were hammered 5-1.
However, it must be stated here that the T&T Warriors now have a coach.
A win and only a win on September 3 is needed.
That would place T&T with seven points — only four points short of the target, hoping that Panama would beat Costa Rica in Panama City.
That would have the effect of keeping the chase for the third and fourth spots wide open. Yes, such a result would bring Panama back into the hunt; but keep in mind that the T&T footballers still have to play Panama away from home, which means that they would still be holding their destiny in their hands.
More importantly, a win for Panama would keep the Costa Ricans away from the 10-point barrier and leave them with seven points. Those results, together with an inconsequential victory for the USA, would mean that the point standings may look as follows:
| Team | Points |
| USA | 18 |
| Mexico | 16 |
| Costa Rica | 7 |
| Guatemala | 7 |
| T&T | 7 |
| Panama | 5 |
This final stretch for T&T is a slightly lighter schedule than that of Panama and Guatemala. Panama will conclude the tournament by opposing Mexico in Mexico, T&T at home and the USA in USA. I, for one, certainly do not envy them.
Guatemala will finish with, the USA at home, Mexico in Mexico and versus Costa Rica at home. Furthermore, the Costa Ricans have been displaying some inconsistency and they will need to improve dramatically to secure a berth in the World Cup finals in Germany 2006.
Costa Rica will complete the schedule by playiing against T&T at home, then versus the USA at home and a huge match away to Guatemala.
Following is one example of what the point standings could look like, on present form for the last three matches, following a T&T victory at home on September 3.
Round 8
Mexico 3 Panama 0
Guatemala 1 USA 2
Costa Rica 1 T&T 1
| Team | Points |
| USA | 21 |
| Mexico | 19 |
| Costa Rica | 8 |
| T&T | 8 |
| Guatemala | 7 |
| Panama | 5 |
Round 9
Panama 0 T&T 1
Mexico 2 Guatemala 0
Costa Rica 1 USA 3
| Team | Points |
| USA | 24 |
| Mexico | 22 |
| T&T | 11 |
| Costa Rica | 8 |
| Guatemala | 7 |
| Panama | 5 |
Round 10
USA 2 Panama 1
Guatemala 2 Costa Rica 2
T&T 1 Mexico 3
| Team | Points |
| ** USA | 27 |
| ** Mexico | 25 |
| ** T&T | 11 |
| * Costa Rica | 9 |
| Guatemala | 8 |
| Panama | 5 |
** Automatic qualification to Germany 2006
* Must meet the winner of the Asian play-off between Bahrain and Uzbekistan in a home and away play-off. The winner will also qualify for Germany 2006.
Any reasonable, objective observer would realise that this is a realistic, plausible scenario, based on current World Cup qualifying form of each of the teams.
The magic number for T&T is 11 points for automatic qualification; however, nine points may be enough. Obviously, this example is not intended to be hard and fast but is simply used to illustrate that out of the four teams fighting for the 3.5 spots, the Warriors do in fact have the best chance of achieving their goal, based on form and scheduling.
T&T must still play one match at a time. Trinbagonians must flock to the stadium to support the team on September 3, as that is the most important match in T&T football since that day in 1989.
One thing is for certain: This epic struggle shall go down to the final whistle of the final match on October 12.
We as fans must ask ourselves: Are we ready, willing and able to sacrifice all that it takes to win this battle? In short, are we really Warriors?
Pack de stadium!