T&T gets 1st round bye in 2010 qualifiers.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).[/size]
Trinidad and Tobago was among 13 nations that will receive a first-round bye in CONCACAF qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
FIFA, in a statement on Friday said it based the decision on its rankings from May. The U.S. also has a bye with. Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Canada, Guyana and St. Vincent and the Grenadines also received first-round byes.
Twenty-two nations will be slotted into home-and-home pairings during the World Cup qualifying draw on Nov. 25 in Durban, South Africa. The 11 winners and St. Vincent will drawn against the top 12 seeds in the second round, which likely will be in June. The 12 second-round winners advance to the semifinals, which will retain the same format from 2006 qualifying, with three groups of four.
The top two teams in each semifinal group advance to the six-nation regional finals. The top three teams in the finals qualify for the 32-nation field, and the No. 4 team meets the fifth-place team from South American in a home-and-home playoff for another berth.
T&T also had a first round bye for the 2006 qualifiers and subsequently went on to book its first spot in a World Cup by defeating Bahrain in a playoff. T&T then performed creditably, as the smallest nation at the Finals, holding Sweden 0-0 before losing to England and Paraguay.
T&T head coach Wim Rijsbergen is currently in South Korea with the National Under 17 team at the FIFA Under 17 World Championship and will return home next week to resume preparations with the Senior Team.
