In our inaugural World Cup, one of the records we held (1st red card and being the tinyest nation ever to qualify among others) was being the oldest team (average age being well over 30).
T&T takes waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long to reach a respectable level of football. Confidence is a rewarding trait. When you're confident your tackles, passes, trapping, shooting takes on a certainty to them; opposing players sniff that quality and give that respect. Recall the boundaries Latapy and Yorke were afforded in the last games played. It wasn't only because they had skill but the opponent knew they these players already knew their next move and that they weren't tentative.
Its reciprocal confidence breathes better play and better play engenders confidence.
I think it's a chicken and egg scenario i.e.which comes first.
The pace of today's game is quite fast. In order to be merely competitive at the international level, you have to be able to play consistently at that pace. It means your technical ability and speed of thought must be sharp. Some have an intuition for it but they're in the extreme minority. The rest do it as a result of REPETITION.
Our players, yonger one's especially, have "Touches"....but they struggle to cope when the pace of the game is raised. When the opponent puts pressure on our players when we're in possession. We lose the ball, misplace our passes, our find ourselves with little option other than to hoof it long down the field to take the pressure off. But all that does is invariably present the opposing team with the ball. We tend not to handle pressure well. Why? Because we don't train to perform in that environment.
Densil Theobald is a good example. He have "touches". He got skills. He has technical ability. But in order to effectively display those skills, he needs to have time and space. A luxury that is not afforded to him at the international level. He is by no means alone.
By the same token, it's why Keon Daniel is such a superior TALENT. He too plays slowly. But his technical ability is on a much higher plane which is why he can cope at this level. Imagine what he could do if he were afforded the opportunity to regularly practice playing the game at a faster pace. Similar for Khaleem Hyland.
So you mention confidence. Confidence comes when your level of comfort within your environment is such that YOU KNOW you're able to perform at that level. Not just perform but excel. Your skills are almost second nature. It can only become second nature which will translate into confidence, when you consistently indulge in the repitition of the various skills needed to excel. This applies to any field of endeavour.