Having secured two positive results to get the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers going, Trinidad and Tobago’s Head coach Angus Eve welcomed the solid platform on which he hopes to build when the Soca Warriors next take the field as part of the campaign.

Eve’s side registered one of the biggest winning margins of the opening round of matches, as they thumped Bahamas 7-1 in Basseterre, St Kitts, on Saturday. That dominance performance followed a shaky showing against Grenada in which the Soca Warriors had to come from two goals down to secure a point in a 2-2 stalemate.

It is with that in mind why Eve expressed pleasure with his team’s character, as the performances ensured the twin island republic sits second in Group B on four points, two behind leaders and group favourites Costa Rica on six points. Grenada (one point) is third, while St Kitts and Nevis and Bahamas, who meet on Tuesday, are yet to get off the mark.

“The result was the most important thing for us. We wanted to win the game. We wanted to get three points and we did,” Eve said.

“I thought we were a little bit flat in the first game against Grenada, and we never got going until the second half. We wanted to right that wrong, and I think we did it. The passing...the fluency of the team was much better,” he added.

Trinidad and Tobago players celebrate a goal against Bahamas.

While critics argued that the 7-1 scoreline was due to the fact that Bahamas was a perceived lesser opponent, Eve rubbished the thought, as he reminded football enthusiasts that the Bahamians were responsible for Trinidad and Tobago’s demise during the last qualifying cycle.

“It doesn’t matter who we played. This team [Bahamas] threw us out of the World Cup last time around. I don’t think we could have scored on them back then. So it shows improvement, for us beating them by seven,” Eve declared.

“As the game went along, we believed we could have gotten more, we pushed for more, and it has taken us up to four points, which is most important,” he noted.

Obviously disappointed by the Grenada performance, the tactician made seven changes to his starting team, and the likes of Malcolm Shaw, Duane Muckette, Andre Rampersad, Alvin Jones, Steffen Yeates, Triston Hodge and Josiah Trimmingham repaid Eve’s faith in them. Shaw and Muckette both scored braces.

“I just wanted to freshen up the team. I have confidence in all of the guys that we brought here, so we believe that we could kind of change up the squad somewhat and get the desired result,” Eve said.

“I thought they did very well and we believe in all the players that we bring here, and we have no fear to change up the team,” he shared.

Meanwhile, having missed out on a Copa America berth, Eve will have to possible find a few friendly encounters to engage in to keep his Soca Warriors sharp ahead of the Nations League, which gets under way in September.

The World Cup qualifying campaign will resume next June. At that time, Trinidad and Tobago will host St Kitts and Nevis, before a possible top-of-the-table clash away to Costa Rica.

Only the top two teams from each group will progress to the final stage of the qualifiers.

Trinidad and Tobago's Head coach Angus Eve and his Guyanese counterpart Jamaal Shabazz welcomed the upcoming two-match friendly international series as a window to not only give new players an opportunity to strut their stuff, but also to gauge their overall readiness for the World Cup qualifiers.

The senior Soca Warriors and their Jaguars counterparts will lock horns on May 13 and 15 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, as they kick start preparations for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June, as well as the Concacaf Nations League campaign in September.

Eve pointed out that a handful of new players will be given the opportunity in the two matches owing to their good form in the ongoing 2023/24 T&T Premier Football League (TTPFL) season.

Defenders Sheldon Bateau, Josiah Trimmingham and Andre Raymond, who became a regular fixture at left back toward the backend of the Soca Warriors' 2023/24 Nations League campaign, have completed their respective club seasons and are expected to be involved in the friendlies. Daniel David, Ezekiel Kesar, Isaiah Lee, Matthew Woo-Ling and the Miscellaneous Police FC pair of Simeon Bailey and Josiah Wilson, will also be in the mix to stake a claim on a spot in the squad for the major tournaments.

"We see these games as a very important cog in the wheel of our preparations going into the World Cup campaign for 2026," Eve said, via a T&T Football Association release.

"It's an ongoing programme that we have started since I have come on board where we get some international games to get the locally based players up to speed to see how they perform against international opposition,” he added.

Guyana, guided by Shabazz, a former T&T coach, gained promotion for the upcoming Nations League A campaign after topping their Nations League B group, which included Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas and Puerto Rico. This represents their competitiveness and quality which Eve is expecting to see on show against his team.

"Guyana is also in the League A of the Nations League so it's not slouches we will be playing. It gives the local players a final opportunity to be seen outside of their league against international opposition so that we can pick the final squad. That is what these exercises are about,” Eve noted.

That said, the tactician explained that meetings with recently-elected TTFA president Kieron Edwards, have been fruitful.

"The TTFA president has been in the media saying how positive the meetings were and we think they were also positive from our end. He and his new board are committed to helping us and the country to qualify for another World Cup,” Eve shared.

Meanwhile, Shabazz believes the Soca Warriors are formidable opponents, as he praised the TTFA and the Guyana Football Federation for their huge investments with the staging of the friendly matches.

"Of course, whether it is football, cricket, hockey or rugby, when Guyana plays T&T, we want to win so it's also going to be a title fight. Trinidad and Tobago are formidable opponents, and it will provide a stern test for the home-based players vying for a spot in the final squad for our FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June,” Shabazz said.

The last meeting between the two teams at the same venue ended in a 1-1 stalemate two years ago.

Kick-off will be 7 pm on both days, with tickets priced at $75 (covered section) and $50 (uncovered section).