Even a loss against Guatemala tonight may not rule T&T's senior women's team out of a spot in the semifinal stage of the Concacaf Women's Championship, once the USA records an expected win over Haiti.
There are a number of variables which could determine which two teams between the USA, T&T and Haiti advances, but once USA defeats Haiti, T&T will likely finish in second spot, barring a heavy loss to Guatemala.
T&T and Guatemala will clash in the opening double-header match at the RFK Stadium, Washington, from 6 pm (TT time), before the USA meets Haiti in the last match of Group A, from 8.30 pm.
Costa Rica has already secured top spot in Group B and Mexico and Jamaica are the two teams left to contest for second spot.
Speaking ahead of today's mouth-watering double contest, T&T head coach Randy Waldrum refuted any ideas of complacency in his team.
"I don't think I'll have to say much. They all understand the objective was to get six points however we could. They all realize the significance of this game. It's now just a matter of us coming out and performing to our ability. If we do that, we will be fine," Waldrum said.
Echoing sentiments of captain Maylee Atton Johnson, Waldrum admitted that his team was far from its best three days ago in the 1-0 victory over Haiti, which T&T grinded out after losing goalkeeper Kimika Forbes to a red card on the hour-mark.
"There were mixed feelings as we knew we didn't play very well and definitely not up to our standards. However, they were very excited to get the three points in spite of not playing well. We feel that is the sign of a very good team," he added.
The team has had some injury concerns and Waldrum believes the three-day break between the second and third match has allowed the players to recuperate and regroup.
"These two days were really important. We've had injuries to Janine Francois, Karyn Forbes, Ayana Russell and Tasha St Louis, and this allowed just a bit more time for them to recover. And playing a player down for over 30 minutes meant we expended a lot of energy, especially coming off the game versus the US. So the added day rest is very crucial."
At the semifinal stage, the two winners will secure their spots at next year's Fifa Women's World Cup in Canada, while the third-place playoff winner will also qualify. There will be one more chance for the fourth placed team, which will meet Ecuador in a two-match play-off for Concacaf and Comnebol's final World Cup qualifier.
Standings
Group A
Teams Pld W D L F A Pts
USA 2 2 0 0 6 0 6
T&T 2 1 0 1 1 1 3
Haiti 2 1 0 1 1 1 3
Guatemala 2 0 0 2 0 6 0
Group B
Teams Pld W D L F A Pts
Costa Rica 2 2 0 0 3 6
Mexico 2 1 0 1 10 1 3
Jamaica 2 1 0 1 7 2 3
Martinique 2 0 0 2 0 16 0
fixtures
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Group A
T&T v Guatemala, RFK Stadium, Washington, 6 pm
Haiti v USA, RFK Stadium, Washington, 8.30 pm
Group B
Martinique v Costa Rica, RFK Stadium, Washington, 6 pm
Mexico v Jamaica, RFK Stadium, Washington, 8.30 pm
Friday
Semifinals
Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B, PPL Park, Chester, 5.30 pm
Costa Rica v Runner-up Group A, PPL Park, Chester, 8.30 pm
Sunday
Third-place match
Loser semifinal 1 v Loser semifinal 2, PPL Park, Chester, 4 pm
Final
Winner semifinal 1 v winner semifinal 2, PPL Park, Chester, 7 pm