A place in the 2024 Copa America will be at stake Saturday when Canada square off with Trinidad and Tobago in a playoff at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Both sides were eliminated from their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final affairs, with Canada losing out to Jamaica on away goals, while the Soca Warriors were beaten 4-2 on aggregate by the USA.
Match preview
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The Canadians' disastrous second-half showing against the Reggae Boyz in leg two of that Nations League tie means that this golden generation will have to wait another year for a chance at CONCACAF glory.
Although winning the Nations League is no longer possible, they can still make it into the Copa America, a tournament they have never featured in before, withdrawing from that competition in 2001, the year after lifting the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Mauro Biello has not been able to replicate the success of his predecessor John Herdman yet, with the interim boss losing two of his three matches in charge and his side conceding eight goals in those three encounters.
Their second-leg defeat to Jamaica (3-2) at the Nations League last November was the first time this side had lost a match when leading at the half since the 2019 Gold Cup quarter-finals (3-2 loss to Haiti).
The Canucks have only lost one of their last six competitive fixtures played on US soil in normal time (2-0 loss to the USA in the 2023 Nations League final), but they have only triumphed in one of those particular outings within 90 minutes (4-2 versus Cuba at the 2023 Gold Cup).
It has been over a decade since they last faced Trinidad and Tobago on the international stage, claiming a 2-0 victory in August 2012.
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Despite appearing to be badly outmatched on paper versus the US in the Nations League quarter-finals, Angus Eve's side punched well above their weight and, in the end, may feel a little hard done by to be eliminated.
In the opening leg, they hung back and swarmed the US at every turn, frustrating them for over 80 minutes while stunning the top-ranked side in CONCACAF 2-1 in the return engagement.
Despite exiting that tournament, this program took positive steps forward during the Nations League, and a berth at the Copa America for the first time would shine more light on this young team and give them a chance to move to a top-tier side in Europe, potentially.
After finishing in a tie with Jamaica for the most goals in the Nations League A group stage (10), TNT have not found the back of the net quite as frequently, failing to score in three of their last four matches in all competitions.
Trinidad have won four successive matches in all competitions when scoring in the opening half, while their last three triumphs occurred after conceding the opening goal.
The Soca Warriors have claimed two victories in their last three meetings against the Canadians, winning only once on North American soil, 2-0 in a July 2000 World Cup qualifier when current manager Angus Eve netted the winner, and former Man United striker Dwight Yorke also scored.
Team News
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There were a couple of notable omissions to the Canadian squad for this encounter with goalkeeper Milan Borjan and defender Steven Vitoria, who started their three group fixtures at the 2022 World Cup, left off the team, while Richie Laryea has a sore thigh and Jonathan Osorio is dealing with a hip injury.
Jonathan Sirois and Luc de Fougerolles are the only two uncapped Canucks selected, Samuel Piette can draw even with Lyndon Hooper for ninth in all-time appearances, Alistair Johnston can reach 40 caps this weekend and Alphonso Davies is six away from 50.
Since the start of 2024, Jonathan David has found his scoring touch again, netting 15 times in all competitions for his club side Lille this year, while he is just two back of Canadian teammate Cyle Larin for the most all-time with this program, and Davies would equal Alex Bunbury and Junior Hoilett for the eighth-most goals with a strike on Saturday.
From the first to the second leg of their Nations League tie with the USA, Eve made two changes to his starting 11, bringing in Reon Moore and Nathaniel James to replace Noah Powder and Malcolm Shaw.
Christopher Biggette is the only uncapped player selected to the TNT side for this encounter, while Andre Raymond made his first two appearances for the national team in both of their Nations League quarter-final fixtures.
Moore scored the equalising goal for the Soca Warriors in their second leg against the US, with Alvin Jones netting the winner on that occasion.
Canada possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Bombito, Miller, Cornelius; Johnston, Eustaquio, Kone, Buchanan; Davies; J. David, Larin
Trinidad and Tobago possible starting lineup:
Smith; Gomez, Jones, A. David, Justin Garcia, Raymond; Powder, Phillips, Hackshaw, Fortune; Moore
We say: Canada 1-0 Trinidad and Tobago
The Soca Warriors have shown they can compete with the elite teams in CONCACAF, but other than frustrating their opponents to a point, we believe the Canadians will have enough firepower to get the job done, especially given Jonathan David's current form.
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