(CMC) – Trinidad and Tobago head coach Stephen Hart is bracing for a tough campaign when the Soca Warriors start their bid to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.T&T will join the CONCACAF qualifying tournament at the fourth round which kicks off in November and will take on the likes of powerhouse United States, tough Central American nation Guatemala and St Vincent and the Grenadines in Group C.
“The opening game-two games are extremely tricky as we have to travel to Guatemala and then travel to play USA at home (in Port of Spain) which takes away one day of preparation. But we’ll deal with it,” Hart said.
“I think right now everyone is very aware of what it will take and our first priority is starting well and securing our place in the final round of qualification and then we take it from there.”
Hart had kept an eye on the third round of CONCACAF qualifiers which wrapped up on Tuesday, with the winners of the Antigua and Barbuda and Guatemala tie poised to be T&T’s opening opponents of their qualifying campaign.
The Antiguans stunned Guatemala 1-0 at home in the first leg last week but went down 2-0 in Guatemala City, to miss out on a chance to advance.
“To be very honest I always thought that is how the group was going to be. I always thought we would end up playing Guatemala and this is just a confirmation of how I felt all along,” Hart noted.
“They have always been very difficult opponents at home and I didn’t expect Antigua to go there and steal points. It will be the same for us. This game will be totally different from the one we played in the Gold Cup.”
In the Gold Cup last July, T&T brushed aside Guatemala 3-1 at Soldier Field in Chicago, en route to topping their group.
Significantly, T&T have never won a World Cup qualifier away to Guatemala, with a heavy 5-1 defeat nine years ago and a goalless draw seven years ago, emphasising their struggles.
However, the Caribbean side have had a great build-up to the qualifying campaign, reaching the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup and then drawing 3-3 with Mexico last Friday in their only international friendly since then.
Hart said there were still several improvements to be made as the side continued to improve.
“I think overall I will like to see us look a bit cleaner when we do win the ball, in our possession and the speed at which we move the ball forward,” he pointed out.
“I would like to see us push teams back some more especially with our wide players because we do have the capacity to do that.”
The fourth round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers will run from November 7 to September 6 next year, with the top two teams from each of the three groups advancing to the fifth round.