The U.S. Men’s National Team drew 0-0 with Trinidad & Tobago in the second game of 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying at Hasely Crawford Stadium.

With the draw, the U.S. and Trinidad & Tobago sit tied atop CONCACAF Qualifying Group C with four points each. Earlier Tuesday, Guatemala gained their first points of Semifinal Round Qualifying with a 4-0 away win at St. Vincent and the Grenadines to move into third with three points, while St. Vincent is last with zero.

The USA controlled the match and produced a number of chances. Two of those opportunities were the collective efforts of the starting forward tandem, Jozy Altidore and Gyasi Zardes. In the 29th minute Altidore made an excellent flowing move down the right flank and lofted a ball across, which a breaking Zardes missed getting a touch to by only fractions. In the second half the duo was at it again, with Altidore making a move on the right and floating a ball to the back post which Zardes headed off the bar in the 47th minute.

In the 78th minute, Jermaine Jones nearly buried a rocket from 30 yards out, but T&T goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams matched Jones’ effort with a great save, stretching out to the top corner and reaching it with a fingertip to clip it over the bar.

The U.S. attack improved as the match went on, with head coach Jurgen Klinsmann bringing on midfielder Darlington Nagbe and forward Bobby Wood, but the team was unable to find a game-winner. The MNT will continue its World Cup Qualifying run in March with a home-and-away series with Guatemala on March 25 (away) and 29 (home). The locations for those matches are still to be determined.

Goal Scoring Opportunities:

TRI – Kenwyne Jones, 13th minute - Kenwyne Jones collected the ball with space, and after a nifty spin move, hit his effort just left of Tim Howard’s goal.

USA – Jozy Altidore, 21st minute - Tim Ream’s throw in from the left touch line bounced into the middle of the USA’s final third for Jozy Altidore, who hit a half volley just over Jan Michael Williams’ goal.

TRI – Kenwyne Jones, 45th minute: Kenwyne Jones’ hard, driven free kick from 25 yards out made its way through traffic, but found its way to Tim Howard who pounced on the ball with the final play of the first half.

USA – Gyasi Zardes 47th minute - DeAndre Yedlin found the ball at midfield before speeding towards the Trinidad & Tobago back line and slipping Jozy Alitidore through on the right. Altidore hit a quick cross to the back post for Gyasi Zardes who nodded his reaction header off the cross bar.

TRI – Joevin Jones, 64th minute: After some possession around the area, Trinidad & Tobago’s Andre Boucaud hit a swerving ball for Joevin Jones on the right. Jones gained some pace in the box before hitting a well-struck effort that Howard did well to hang on to.

USA – Jermaine Jones, 78th minute - After a strong buildup in possession, Michael Bradley laid a ball off for Jermaine Jones who saw his effort from 25 yards tipped off the cross bar by Jan Michael Williams.

Additional Notes:

With his appearance tonight, Gyasi Zardes tied Claudio Reyna's record for most caps in a player's debut year for the National Team with 19.

After making his MNT debut in the opening Qualifying match against St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Darlinton Nagbe entered the match as a second half sub for Tim Ream to earn his second career cap.

Bobby Wood was the USA’s other substitution, coming on for Gyasi Zardes as both players earned their second consecutive World Cup Qualifying caps. Wood has now featured for the MNT eight times in 2015 and 14 times in his career.

The U.S. MNT moved to 71-36-33 all-time and 21-29-29 in away World Cup Qualifying matches.

The USA is 16-2-4 all-time against Trinidad & Tobago, holding an 11-1-3 edge in World Cup qualification matches.

The MNT holds a 5-2-3 advantage in away matches against Trinidad & Tobago and 4-1-2 in World Cup Qualifiers in the Caribbean nation.

All 10 U.S. matches against Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain have been decided by a goal or less.

Since 1990 World Cup Qualifying, the MNT is 25-2-9 all-time against Caribbean nations and 12-3-7 when playing them outside of the U.S.

- U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report –

Match: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Trinidad & Tobago
Date: Nov. 17, 2015
Competition: 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying – Semifinal Round
Venue: Hasely Crawford Stadium; Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. ET
Attendance: TBA
Weather: 81 degrees; Partly cloudy

Teams

USA: 12-Tim Howard; 16-Michael Orozco, 20-Geoff Cameron, 5-Matt Besler, 3-Tim Ream (6-Darlington Nagbe, 68), 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 13-Jermaine Jones, 4-Michael Bradley (capt.), 23-Fabian Johnson, 9-Gyasi Zardes (18-Bobby Wood, 76), 17-Jozy Altidore

Subs Not Used: 1-Brad Guzan, 7-Miguel Ibarra, 8-Jordan Morris, 10-Mix Diskerud, 11-Brek Shea, 14-Matt Miazga, 15-Kyle Beckerman, 19-Ventura Alvarado, 21-Alan Gordon, 22-Bill Hamid

Head Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann

TRI: 21-Jan-Michael Williams; 4-Sheldon Bateau, 5-Daneil Cyrus, 17-Mekeil Williams (16-Justin Hoyte, 76), 6-Radanfah Abu Bakr, 19-Kevan George, 8-Khaleem Hyland, 3-Joevin Jones, 14-Andre Boucaud (20-Keron Cummings, 82), 13- Cordell Cato (11-Trevin Caesar, 85), 9-Kenwyne Jones (capt.)

Subs Not Used: 1-Marvin Phillip, 10-Willis Plaza, 15-Neveal Hackshaw, 23-Lester Peltier, 7-Jonathan Glenn, 2-David Aubrey, 12-Carlyle Mitchell, 18-Yohance Marshall

Head coach: Stephen Hart

Stats Summary: USA / TRI
Shots: 7 / 10
Shots on Goal: 2 / 4
Saves: 4 / 2
Corner Kicks: 7 / 2
Fouls: 12 / 12
Offside: 3 / 1

Misconduct Summary:

USA – DeAndre Yedlin (caution) 45+1st minute
USA – Jermaine Jones (caution) 49 minute

Officials:

Referee: Cesar Ramos (MEX)                                                                                   
Assistant Referee 1: Miguel Hernandez (MEX)                                           
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Joel Rangel (MEX)                                   
Fourth Official: Oscar Macias (MEX)   

Warriors stay unbeaten after fine display in 0-0 draw with USA
By Shaun Fuentes (TTFA).

Trinidad and Tobago’s Senior Men’s Team stretched their unbeaten record to five matches with an impressive and strong showing in tonight’s 2018 CONCACAF semi-final round World Cup qualifier before a packed Hasely Crawford Stadium.

The game had all the ingredients of proper international football match and there was a tremendous atmosphere in the stadium from start to finish.

T&T are second in the group with four points behind the US (4 points) and ahead of Guatemala (3 pts) which trounced St Vincent/Grenadines 4-0 tonight

“I thought the players left everything out on the pitch tonight,” Stephen Hart said.

“They pushed themselves from the start and they never let up. I was really impressed with the way we handled the game but while a point is good I felt we had the chance to get the win tonight. But we’ll take it and now we have the rest of games to look forward to next year. I would have ideally loved to be going into the next set of games with six points but we’ve got four and we’ll work with that,” Hart added.

T&T captain Kenwyne Jones added: “The team really came out and give a fighting display and I don’t think anyone can be disappointed with what we have on the pitch tonight. It’s a good position to be in after two matches but we have a lot to look forward to still and we have got to stay together and keeping building as a team.

“The game itself was a good one in the sense that we showed that we could hold our own and we can compete with some of the best and I think we have been showing signs of this and great progress over the past two years or so. I think this is a good period for us and we have to keep pushing on from here,” Jones added.

A report in the Washington Post read ” World Cup qualifying is a two-year grind, pulling the U.S. men’s national soccer team to far-off destinations across Central America and the Caribbean.

These away exercises are not designed for artistic endeavors; rather, they are trials of composure and concentration. If everything goes just right, victory might be there for the taking. Most of the time, though, a draw will suffice.

Jurgen Klinsmann’s crew made few memories Tuesday, but with a 0-0 draw against Trinidad and Tobago at Hasely Crawford Stadium, the Americans passed their first road test of the 2018 qualifying cycle and remained atop the CONCACAF semifinal-round group.

The Americans did not create many opportunities, particularly in a drab first half, but they came closest to scoring after intermission as Gyasi Zardes and Jermaine Jones hit the crossbar.

“You know they are always going to be hard games,” captain Michael Bradley said. “You know they are not always going to be pretty. We’ve been through it before. We know what it’s like.

“If you are able to take your chance, the result can look different. If you can’t, it’s vital you are defensively solid and, at worst, come away 0-0. In those ways, it was a professional performance.”

The outcome left the United States atop the Group C quartet with a 1-0-1 record and four points. Trinidad and Tobago boasts the same numbers but trails on goal differential. Two teams will advance to the final round of regional qualifying next year.

Guatemala (1-1-0) kept pace with a 4-0 victory at St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which has conceded 10 consecutive goals since taking an early lead against the US.

The stop in Port of Spain rekindled memories of the 1989 meeting that decided a World Cup berth. The Americans have visited several times since, but almost 26 years to the day they dashed local World Cup dreams with a 1-0 victory, the pain remains fresh.

“Overall, a tie is all right,” said U.S. Coach Juergen Klinsmann.

This encounter fell very early in the qualifying cycle, leaving ample room for error. Still, after an invigorating performance at the Gold Cup this summer and a 2-1 victory at Guatemala in the group opener, the Soca Warriors saw a wonderful opportunity to further their cause on home ground.

In the hours before kickoff, the stadium was a festival of sound (rapid-fire percussion and soca rhythms) and color (red, red and more red). The scene was set for a T&T fete.

The Soca Warriors were quicker and more clever with the ball in the first half. The U.S. central midfield tandem of Bradley and Jones wasn’t synchronized.

For the most part, the Americans were forced to chase the game. There was nothing dynamic about their approach. Passing was impure. They absorbed pressure and sought to counterattack, fleeting opportunities stalling in the thick seaside air.

The Soca Warriors were the more vibrant side, but at home, they had to be. A home draw against the group favorites would not cripple T&T’s efforts, but such golden opportunities should not be misused.

The match almost turned dramatically two minutes after intermission, but Zardes’s running header on Jozy Altidore’s cross crashed off the crossbar.

It was the start of a much-improved half by the Americans, who bettered their possession game and tightened defensively. Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler made a strong case to remain Klinsmann’s primary center backs into 2016.

In his first significant action since returning from a one-year international sabbatical, World Cup star Tim Howard did not have to make any difficult saves.

Howard’s counterpart, Jan Michael Williams, preserved the tie in the 78th minute by getting a slight touch on Jones’s roaring shot from distance — off his hand and then off the crossbar.

Said Howard: “Exactly how we figured it would go — tight game, point on the road, all is well.”

T&T, USA in Goalless draw.
T&T Guardian Reports.

The United States and Trinidad and Tobago played to a 0-0 draw in their CONCACAF World Cup semifinal qualifying match at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, last night, which puts both teams on four points following two Group C matches.

The US was largely outplayed in the first 45 minutes, with T&T generating the better of the chances, but Jurgen Klinsmann’s team did show signs of life in the second half.

Joevin Jones nearly gave T&T the lead in opening minute, when Kenwyne Jones played a diagonal ball back to him at the top of the US penalty area, but the Chicago Fire player’s attempt went over the crossbar.

In the 13th minute, Kenwyne Jones made a nice spinning move to his right and fired a shot that would have beaten US goalkeeper Tim Howard. However, the 18-yard effort missed wide to the left.

The best two chances for the US were both from long range. Fabian Johnson struck a nice line drive from 20 yards in the 19th minute, but the ball went right to goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams. Jozy Altidore’s dipping volley a minute later went over the goal.

Cordell Cato had another chance on goal for the hosts in the 26th minute. The speedy midfielder was played through by Khaleem Hyland, but his right-footed shot was off target.

In the opening minutes of the second half, Altidore found strike partner Gyasi Zardes with a curling ball across goal, but the LA Galaxy player’s headed attempt slammed off the crossbar.

That led to a counter-attack for T&T, as Jones sprinted down the left side of the field and played a nice ball across, but none of his teammates could reach it.

Joevin Jones had back-to-back chances in the 64th minute. The 24-year-old’s headed attempt was not hit cleanly, but he secured the rebound and fired a solid left-footed shot right at Howard.

US coach Jurgen Klinsmann went to his bench in the 68th minute, substituting defender Tim Ream for Portland Timbers’ midfielder Darlington Nagbe. Bobby Wood came on for Zardes in the 75th minute.

Jermaine Jones saw his thunderous strike from 35 yards tipped just over the bar by Williams. The US couldn’t capitalise from the ensuing corner kick.

Howard got his first competitive start for the United States since last year’s World Cup, and right-back Michael Orozco also was inserted into the American lineup.

The US resumes World Cup qualifying with a home-and-home series against Guatemala on Friday, March 25, and Tuesday, March 29.