Trinidad and Tobago Vs. Bermuda 09/02/11 Kamal’s Free CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Pick and Preview
Written by Kamal.
Kenwyne Jones and T&T being their road to World Cup 2014 Brazil against Bermuda
CONCACAF continues it’s road to 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying with Round 2, in Group B that also contains Guyana and Barbados this match sees favorites Trinidad and Tobago host minnow Bermuda at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain.
Trinidad and Tobago is usually amongst the major powers in the Caribbean, winning a Caribbean Football Union high eight Caribbean Cups and thus is usually regular participants in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. However they have fallen on hard times as of late losing to the likes of Cuba, Grenada and winning by a slim 1-0 margin against hosts Martinique in the 2010 Caribbean Championship, they were subsequently eliminated and saw the likes of Grenada, Guadeloupe (who are not recognized as a FIFA nation), and Cuba qualify for this past summers CONCACAF Gold Cup along with champions Jamaica. This T&T squad is now under the leadership of experienced international coach Otto Pfister and are hoping he can turn things around, in charge of African sides Togo, Cameroon and Ghana is will be interesting to see how Pfister will adapt to the unique nature of CONCACAF. The key players for The Soca Warriors is captain and forward Kenwyne Jones of EPL side Stoke City, midfielders Carlos Edwards of Ipswich Town as well as Keon Daniel, Christopher Birchall and Julius James based in Major League Soccer with Philadelphia Union, LA Galaxy and Colombus Crew respectively.
As for Bermuda, they are another of those small island nations but have actually has some success against current opponents Trinidad and Tobago under the old format of two legged ties, at this very stage for 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying they picked up a shocking 2-1 victory on home soil. Although they were ultimately beaten 2-0 in the second leg and 4-1 on aggregate that was the brightest moment the nations soccer team has ever seen and this crop of players would love to do something similar, the player to score both goals on that historic day was forward John Barry Nusum who currently plays club soccer in the USA for Crystal Palace Baltimore of the USSF Division 2 Professional League. The majority of this squad is based in Bermuda and play for the same club Bermuda Hogges, however coach Andrew Paynter can count on 20 year old forward Reggie Lambe of Ipswich Town and winger Khano Smith formerly of New England Revolution and New York Red Bulls of MLS and currently playing for Carolina RailHawks in the NASL to provide some quality.
This is really T&T’s group to lose, they have superior quality over the rest of the group but with their recent displays there may be some shocks on the cards. With this being the first match, under a new coach and having lost to this side before I think there is some value in the UNDER.
Bermuda Vs. Trinidad and Tobago
Friday September 2nd, 2011 4:00PM ET
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying - Round 2 - Group B
