T&T Soca Warriors face Guadeloupe at the home of Inter Miami FC, the DRV PNK Stadium, in Fort Lauderdale on June 16 from 4.30 pm in one of six first-round matches of the preliminary qualification to the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup.
The date and time for the Angus Eve-coached “Soca Warriors” and Guadeloupe “Gwada Boys”, coached by Guadeloupe-born former France-international Jocelyn Angloma was announced by Concacaf on Tuesday as they revealed the full match schedule for the 17th edition of the tournament the Confederation’s flagship competition for men’s national teams which takes place from June 16 to July 16, and will crown the best national team in the region. In total, 15 stadiums in 14 USA and Canadian metropolitan areas will host matches.
In addition to the T&T and Guadeloupe encounter, the preliminary round one fixtures between Martinique and St Lucia, and Curacao and St Kitts and Nevis will also take place on June 16 at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale from 7 pm, and 9 pm, respectively.
One day later (June 17), at the same venue, the three remaining first-round preliminary matches will come off with French Guiana against Sint Maarten from 4.30 pm followed by Suriname versus Puerto Rico at 7 pm, and two hours later, Guyana up against Grenada.
Should 104th-FIFA ranked T&T get past unranked Guadeloupe, who they have an even record of two wins, three draws, and two losses against, in their first-round match, then they next face the winner of the Jamaal Shabazz-coached Guyana, ranked 170th versus the 175th-ranked Grenada first-round clash on June 20 from, 4.30 pm, for a spot in Group D of the 16-nation main draw with top-seeded Canada, ranked 47th in the world, 116th-ranked Guatemala and Cuba, ranked 165th.
In their previous meetings, T&T went under to the Guadeloupans in their first two matches, 2-1 in 1966 and 2-0 in the 1989 Caribbean Cup, which T&T won, but have since gone on a five-match unbeaten run versus the French-speaking Caribbean Island, drawing goalless in 1994 also at the Caribbean Cup, before securing a 3-2 win in the 1999 Caribbean Cup and a 1-0 win in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2003, followed by a 2-2 draw and a goalless draw in 2007, and 2008 friendly internationals.
T&T qualified to the Gold Cup preliminary qualifiers as a League B second-place finisher with French Guiana, Guadeloupe, and Guyana, together with League A third-place finishers Curaçao, Grenada, Martinique, and Suriname, and League C group winners Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and Sint Maarten.
The Soca Warriors were forced to contest the preliminary round of qualification for the second straight Gold Cup campaign to qualify for the Gold Cup main draw group stage after failing to qualify directly from their four-team CONCACAF Nations League B Group C round-robin home-and-away series last month.
Eve’s men entered their final League B Group C match against table leader Nicaragua at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago needing a win to secure the top spot in the group, promotion to League A of the CONCACAF Nations League, and automatic qualification to the Gold Cup.
However, Eve’s men could only muster a 1-1 draw to end with 13 points, one behind Nicaragua to miss out on being among the 12 automatic qualifiers for the 2023 Gold Cup, alongside Qatar, League A group winners: Canada, Mexico, Panama, and the USA, the four League A runners-up Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Jamaica along with the League B group winning quartet of Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, and Nicaragua.
Guadeloupe finished second to Cuba in their CONCACAF Nations League B Group A series with three wins and as many defeats in six matches for nine points, six behind the table toppers and just ahead of Antigua & Barbuda on goal-difference while Barbados ended in cellar-placed with three points.
In the other preliminary round Gold Cup match-ups, the winners of the Martinique/St Lucia coached by former T&T World Cup striker Stern John and the winner of the Suriname/Puerto Rico clash will square off from 7 pm for a place in Group C alongside the Central American trio of Costa Rica, Panama, and El Salvador while the third and final preliminary round pairings see Curacao and St Kitts and Nevis winners meeting French Guiana and Sint Martin winner at 9 pm for a place in Group A where USA, Jamaica, and Nicaragua awaits.
Group B of the main draw will feature Mexico, Haiti, Honduras, Asian Champions, and guest nation, Qatar.
The Gold Cup main draw stage then takes place between June 24 to July 4 and will feature 16 nations divided into four groups of four.
