PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):
TRINIDAD AND Tobago (T&T) head coach, Dwight Yorke, said he is disappointed after failing in his quest to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
T&T needed a win in their penultimate match against Jamaica on Thursday, but only managed a 1-1 draw, which left them no chance of finishing among the top two teams in Group B of the Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers.
In their five games, T&T have won one, drawn three and lost one match.
Yorke, who was hired last November and given a mandate by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) to qualify for the World Cup, admitted he was saddened by the result.
“I can tell you that we’re disappointed with the results, but I can’t tell you how proud I am about these players, what they’ve given over the past year since I have taken this job.
“It’s hard to think that we are not where we want to be because of the points system,” Yorke said following the match against Jamaica.
“It’s been that sort of campaign for us, where we dominated teams, but somehow, we came up a little short. But it’s very encouraging; as a coach, you’ve got to be happy. It felt like a defeat; it felt like a dig in the stomach. It’s not easy to swallow that when you know you’ve dominated teams like Jamaica.”
Despite the results not going in their favour, Yorke said he was proud of the performance and determination shown by the team throughout the campaign.
“We haven’t been able to close the games off, but in terms of football, anyone who watched T&T play football, certainly from the time I’ve taken the job to where we are, you’ve got to be proud of these guys.
“They’ve left everything out there; they’ve given everything. The fans, the people of T&T, came out in their numbers to support the team. We just came up a little bit short, but I’m over the moon by the team’s performance and what we’ve been able to do at this point,” Yorke said.
