USMNT concludes World Cup Qualifying vs Trinidad & Tobago Oct. 10
(Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Men’s National Team will visit Trinidad & Tobago on the last day of the Final Round of 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, but it’ll do so in an unfamiliar venue.
The Trinidad & Tobago Football Association has decided the clash on Oct. 10 will take place at the smaller Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva instead of the more familiar confines of Hasely Crawford Stadium in the capital, Port of Spain. Kickoff for the match is set for 8 p.m. ET (beIN Sports, UNIVERSO).
Constructed for the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Cup that was held in the dual-island nation, the ground is named after the Trinidadian world champion sprinter and has a capacity of just 10,000 – much smaller than Hasely Crawford, which is capable of holding 23,000.
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Located about 45 minutes south of Port of Spain, the ground has recently served as a second home for the Soca Warriors, with the team hosting Gold Cup qualifying matches there since 2014. T&T has dropped three of four games its played at Ato Boldon in 2017, most recently on Sept. 1 when they fell 2-1 to Honduras in the previous home qualifier.
This isn’t the first time the MNT has played Trinidad & Tobago away from Hasely Crawford. In 2005, the U.S. opened the Final Round of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup against the Soca Warriors at Queens Park Oval, the home venue for the nation’s cricket team.
Held against the backdrop of the second largest Carnival festival outside of Rio, Eddie Johnson and Eddie Lewis found the back of the net as the U.S. ran out 2-1 winners on a scorching afternoon in Port of Spain.
