USA resume their campaign to climb back up the CONCACAF Hexagonal standings and into a place at Russia 2018 on Thursday, hosting Trinidad & Tobago in a World Cup qualifying match that the Yanks both expect and need to win.
After a 1-3 start to the Hex, Trinidad are the only team in the six-team group with fewer points than the USMNT, who are 12-1-3 all-time in qualifying meetings with the Soca Warriors, including a 7-0-1 mark at home. In fact, T&T have not even scored against the Yanks in these games for more than 20 years, and have to hark all the way back to 1989 to recall their sole point on US soil.
But the Americans’ margin for error is still tight as they continue to recover from their 0-2 start to this round, and the weekend’s visit to Mexico at mighty Estadio Azteca looms large. Given those high stakes, coach Bruce Arena and his men will be eager to assert themselves early and often in this mile-high clash at DSG Park, home of the Colorado Rapids.
USA Outlook
A 6-0 victory over Honduras and a 1-1 draw at Panama in March stabilized the Yanks’ Hex fortunes after November’s losses to Mexico and Costa Rica frightened US Soccer’s leadership enough to prompt the dismissal of head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
That said, with four points from four matches, the USMNT remain well back of runaway leaders Mexico and look to be in a keen race with Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras for the other two automatic qualification slots. A fourth-place finish would offer a back door to Russia via an intercontinental playoff with an Asian side, but that’s a jittery path they’d rather not contemplate just yet.
The Denver area was chosen for Thursday’s match to help players make the physiological adaptation to the lung-burning thin air that awaits them in Mexico City, and Arena duly set up camp in Colorado last week. Saturday’s 1-1 friendly draw with Venezuela at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah also fit into the process, though poor set-piece defending, an injury to defender John Brooks and some wobbly stretches of play gave the technical staff plenty to think about.
“You mark a guy and beat him to the ball, and when the ball is cleared and played back in, you have to stay with your man and beat him to the ball,” said Arena after Jose Manuel Velazquez scored the Vinotinto’s goal via some ragged corner-kick defending by the US. “It’s simply individual breakdowns. The players have to do better.
“At times we played well; the final product [in attack] wasn’t very good,” added the USMNT boss. “It was good to get to know each other a little bit. When will we find out if we’re ready for Thursday night? On Thursday night.”
Trinidad & Tobago Outlook
While Yanks fans might be feeling nervous, the picture is quite grim for the Soca Warriors, who sit in last place in the Hex with a 1-3 record and two home losses already. Like the US, they opened the round with two losses and responded by firing their coach, Stephen Hart.
However, Hart’s replacement Tom Saintfiet lasted barely a month on the job, overseeing a loss to Haiti in 2017 Gold Cup qualifying before stepping down, citing a lack of support from the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation.
Dennis Lawrence, a steady defender from the country’s legendary 2006 World Cup team, took the reins and oversaw a home win over Panama in March. But Mexico won in Port-of-Spain four days later, leaving T&T facing a steep climb to get back into anything approaching World Cup contention. And the road ahead is tough: The Caribbean side visit Costa Rica on Tuesday and still have to visit Azteca in October.
The Soca Warriors will look to their MLS-based contingent for inspiration, with Minnesota United playmaker Kevin Molino, Atlanta United striker Kenwyne Jones and the Seattle Sounders’ marauding fullback/winger Joevin Jones key components of the attack.
But they’ll face the US without Cordell Cato after Lawrence dismissed the San Jose Earthquakes winger for a disciplinary reasons. Cato reportedly arrived at T&T’s Denver training camp with his family in tow, violating previously-agreed terms in Lawrence’s view.
