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Trinidad and Tobago at the FIFA World Cup

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The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup or the Soccer World Cup, but is normally referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.

The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final.

Trinidad and Tobago have qualified for the final stages of the FIFA World Cup on one occasion, in 2006, when they qualified for the tournament in Germany, but were eliminated at the group stage.[1] Trinidad and Tobago became the smallest nation in terms of population to reach the finals of a World Cup tournament,[2] a feat previously held by Northern Ireland since their first World Cup appearance at the 1958 World Cup. This record was held until Iceland qualified for the first time in 2018.[3]

World Cup record

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FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966 Did not qualify
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994
France 1998
South Korea Japan 2002
Germany 2006 Group stage 27th 3 0 1 2 0 4
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018
Qatar 2022
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total Group stage 1/25 3 0 1 2 0 4

2006 FIFA World Cup

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Qualification

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On 12 October 2005, Trinidad and Tobago secured fourth place in the CONCACAF final qualification round, and therefore participated in a playoff with the fifth place Asian team Bahrain for a chance to enter the 2006 World Cup. After a 1–1 draw in Port of Spain, the team beat Bahrain 1–0, with a Dennis Lawrence header in Manama, to clinch their first ever qualification for the World Cup finals.

Squad

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No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Shaka Hislop 22 February 1969 26 England West Ham United
2 2DF Ian Cox 25 March 1971 16 England Gillingham
3 2DF Avery John 18 June 1975 58 United States New England Revolution
4 2DF Marvin Andrews 22 December 1975 98 Scotland Rangers
5 2DF Brent Sancho 13 March 1977 42 England Gillingham
6 2DF Dennis Lawrence 1 August 1974 65 Wales Wrexham
7 3MF Chris Birchall 5 May 1984 21 England Port Vale
8 2DF Cyd Gray 21 November 1976 41 Trinidad and Tobago San Juan Jabloteh
9 3MF Aurtis Whitley 1 May 1977 26 Trinidad and Tobago San Juan Jabloteh
10 4FW Russell Latapy 2 August 1968 66 Scotland Falkirk
11 3MF Carlos Edwards 24 October 1978 53 England Luton Town
12 4FW Collin Samuel 27 August 1981 19 Scotland Dundee United
13 4FW Cornell Glen 21 October 1980 37 United States Los Angeles Galaxy
14 4FW Stern John 30 October 1976 97 England Coventry City
15 4FW Kenwyne Jones 5 October 1984 30 England Southampton
16 3MF Evans Wise 23 November 1973 17 Germany Waldhof Mannheim
17 2DF Atiba Charles 29 September 1977 19 Trinidad and Tobago W Connection
18 3MF Densill Theobald 27 June 1982 40 Scotland Falkirk
19 4FW Dwight Yorke (c) 3 November 1971 56 Australia Sydney FC
20 4FW Jason Scotland 18 February 1979 25 Scotland St Johnstone
21 1GK Kelvin Jack 29 April 1976 32 Scotland Dundee
22 1GK Clayton Ince 13 July 1972 63 England Coventry City
23 3MF Anthony Wolfe 23 December 1983 4 Trinidad and Tobago San Juan Jabloteh

Silvio Spann was originally in the squad, but had to drop-out after sustaining a hamstring injury in the run-up to the tournament. He was replaced by Evans Wise. Head coach of Trinidad and Tobago's 2006 World Cup squad was Leo Beenhakker.

Finals Matches

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Trinidad and Tobago were drawn in Group B along with England, Sweden and Paraguay.

In their first match, Trinidad and Tobago held a strong Swedish side to a 0–0 draw, despite having Avery John sent off less than 30 seconds into the second half. Team captain Dwight Yorke won Man of the Match honours.[4]

Trinidad and Tobago lost their second game of the group stage to England 2–0. Late goals from Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard secured England a place in the second round.[5] Trinidad had hoped for a draw between Paraguay and Sweden for their best chances of getting second place but Sweden defeated Paraguay 1–0.[6]

Trinidad and Tobago lost their third and final game of Group B to Paraguay 2–0. An own goal from Brent Sancho put them behind early in the game, and Paraguay scored a second goal late in the match from Nelson Cuevas.[7]

Trinidad and Tobago finished last in Group B with one point, and were eliminated. They were the only team in the 2006 World Cup not to score a goal.[8]

Group B

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 England 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7
 Sweden 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
 Paraguay 3 1 0 2 2 2 0 3
 Trinidad and Tobago 3 0 1 2 0 4 −4 1
Team #1   Score   Team #2
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago 0–0 Sweden Sweden
England England 2–0 Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago
Paraguay Paraguay 2–0 Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago vs Sweden

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Trinidad and Tobago 0–0 Sweden
Report
Trinidad and Tobago
Sweden
GK 1 Shaka Hislop
RB 8 Cyd Gray
CB 5 Brent Sancho
CB 6 Dennis Lawrence
LB 3 Avery John Yellow card 15' Yellow-red card 46'
RM 11 Carlos Edwards
CM 7 Chris Birchall
CM 19 Dwight Yorke (c) Yellow card 74'
LM 18 Densill Theobald downward-facing red arrow 66'
CF 14 Stern John
CF 12 Collin Samuel downward-facing red arrow 52'
Substitutions:
FW 13 Cornell Glen upward-facing green arrow 52'
MF 9 Aurtis Whitley upward-facing green arrow 66'
Manager:
Netherlands Leo Beenhakker
GK 23 Rami Shaaban
RB 7 Niclas Alexandersson
CB 3 Olof Mellberg (c)
CB 4 Teddy Lučić
LB 5 Erik Edman
RM 21 Christian Wilhelmsson downward-facing red arrow 78'
CM 6 Tobias Linderoth downward-facing red arrow 78'
CM 8 Anders Svensson downward-facing red arrow 62'
LM 9 Freddie Ljungberg
CF 10 Zlatan Ibrahimović
CF 11 Henrik Larsson Yellow card 90'
Substitutions:
FW 20 Marcus Allbäck upward-facing green arrow 62'
FW 18 Mattias Jonson upward-facing green arrow 78'
MF 16 Kim Källström upward-facing green arrow 78'
Manager:
Lars Lagerbäck

Man of the Match:
Dwight Yorke (Trinidad and Tobago)

Assistant referees:
Prachya Permpanich (Thailand)
Eisa Gholoum (United Arab Emirates)
Fourth official:
Óscar Ruiz (Colombia)
Fifth official:
Fernando Tamayo (Ecuador)

England vs Trinidad and Tobago

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England 2–0 Trinidad and Tobago
Report
England
Trinidad and Tobago
GK 1 Paul Robinson
RB 15 Jamie Carragher downward-facing red arrow 58'
CB 5 Rio Ferdinand
CB 6 John Terry
LB 3 Ashley Cole
RM 7 David Beckham (c)
CM 4 Steven Gerrard
CM 8 Frank Lampard Yellow card 64'
LM 11 Joe Cole downward-facing red arrow 74'
CF 10 Michael Owen downward-facing red arrow 58'
CF 21 Peter Crouch
Substitutions:
FW 9 Wayne Rooney upward-facing green arrow 58'
MF 19 Aaron Lennon upward-facing green arrow 58'
MF 20 Stewart Downing upward-facing green arrow 74'
Manager:
Sweden Sven-Göran Eriksson
GK 1 Shaka Hislop Yellow card 47'
RB 11 Carlos Edwards
CB 5 Brent Sancho
CB 6 Dennis Lawrence
LB 8 Cyd Gray Yellow card 55'
RM 7 Chris Birchall
CM 9 Aurtis Whitley Yellow card 19'
CM 19 Dwight Yorke (c)
LM 18 Densill Theobald Yellow card 18' downward-facing red arrow 85'
CF 15 Kenwyne Jones Yellow card 45+1' downward-facing red arrow 70'
CF 14 Stern John
Substitutions:
FW 13 Cornell Glen upward-facing green arrow 70'
FW 16 Evans Wise upward-facing green arrow 85'
Manager:
Netherlands Leo Beenhakker

Man of the Match:
David Beckham (England)

Assistant referees:
Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan)
Kim Dae-young (South Korea)
Fourth official:
Kevin Stott (United States)
Fifth official:
Chris Strickland (United States)

Paraguay vs Trinidad and Tobago

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Paraguay 2–0 Trinidad and Tobago
Report
Paraguay
Trinidad and Tobago
GK 22 Aldo Bobadilla
RB 21 Denis Caniza downward-facing red arrow 89'
CB 5 Julio César Cáceres downward-facing red arrow 77'
CB 4 Carlos Gamarra (c)
LB 2 Jorge Núñez
RM 8 Edgar Barreto
CM 10 Roberto Acuña
CM 13 Carlos Paredes Yellow card 30'
LM 19 Julio dos Santos Yellow card 54'
CF 18 Nelson Valdez downward-facing red arrow 66'
CF 9 Roque Santa Cruz
Substitutions:
FW 23 Nelson Cuevas upward-facing green arrow 66'
DF 15 Julio Manzur upward-facing green arrow 77'
DF 14 Paulo da Silva upward-facing green arrow 89'
Manager:
Uruguay Aníbal Ruiz
GK 21 Kelvin Jack
RB 11 Carlos Edwards
CB 5 Brent Sancho Yellow card 45'
CB 6 Dennis Lawrence
LB 3 Avery John downward-facing red arrow 31'
RM 7 Chris Birchall
CM 9 Aurtis Whitley Yellow card 48' downward-facing red arrow 67'
CM 19 Dwight Yorke (c)
LM 18 Densill Theobald
CF 13 Cornell Glen downward-facing red arrow 41'
CF 14 Stern John
Substitutions:
DF 15 Kenwyne Jones upward-facing green arrow 31'
MF 16 Evans Wise upward-facing green arrow 41'
MF 10 Russell Latapy upward-facing green arrow 67'
Manager:
Netherlands Leo Beenhakker

Man of the Match:
Julio dos Santos (Paraguay)

Assistant referees:
Cristiano Copelli (Italy)
Alessandro Stagnelli (Italy)
Fourth official:
Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)
Fifth official:
Peter Hermans (Belgium)

Support

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The Tartan Army, supporters of Scottish football, lent their support to Trinidad and Tobago, partly since they were opponents to England and also due to six of the squad members playing for Scottish clubs.

Aftermath

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On their return from Germany, the government awarded Leo Beenhakker and each member of the squad the country's second highest honour, the Chaconia Medal, Gold, plus TT$1,000,000 (one quarter in cash, the rest in unit trusts).[9] As captain, Dwight Yorke was awarded TT$1,250,000, while players who had participated in qualification but not in Germany were awarded TT$250,000. Ten members of the teams' technical staff were also later awarded TT$250,000.[10]

On 6 October 2006, thirteen of the players in the 2006 World Cup squad indicated their intention to retire from international football after friendly matches against St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Panama on 7 October and 11 October, respectively. The players alleged that the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation had reneged on various contractual commitments to the team.[11] This was upheld by the Trinidadian High Court in March 2011, who ordered that an interim payment of $1.14m should be made.[12]

Record players

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Nine players were fielded in all three of Trinidad and Tobago's matches in 2006, making them record World Cup appearance makers for their country.

Rank Player Matches
1 Chris Birchall 3
Carlos Edwards 3
Cornell Glen 3
Stern John 3
Dennis Lawrence 3
Brent Sancho 3
Densill Theobald 3
Aurtis Whitley 3
Dwight Yorke 3

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup Statistics for Trinidad and Tobago". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  2. ^ "The World Cup's smallest team". BBC article. 11 May 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2006.
  3. ^ T.A.W. (12 November 2017). "How Iceland (population: 330,000) qualified for the World Cup". The Economist. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Football - World Cup 2006 - Sweden 0-0 Trinidad & Tobago". BBC Sport. 10 June 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Football - World Cup 2006 - England 2-0 Trinidad & Tobago". BBC Sport. 15 June 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Football - World Cup 2006 - Sweden 1-0 Paraguay". BBC Sport. 15 June 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Football - World Cup 2006 - Paraguay 2-0 Trinidad". BBC Sport. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Football - World Cup 2006 - Teams - Trinidad & Tobago - Beenhakker admits defeat was fair". BBC Sport. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Birchall and Bell up for award". BBC Sport. 21 November 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  10. ^ Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : newsday.co.tt :
  11. ^ Vital Football, Scotland quits international scene., retrieved on 7 October 2006.
  12. ^ Trinidad & Tobago players to get 2006 World Cup cash, BBC Sport, 4 March 2011
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