Record eight-time Caribbean Football Union Cup winners, T&T Soca Warriors will kick off their 2014 Second Round qualifying campaign against Dominican Republic on Wednesday October 8 in the feature match of a double-header at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.
In the opening match of the Group Seven qualifiers, Antigua and Barbuda faces St Lucia.
The Stephen Hart-coached Soca Warriors will then face St Lucia on October 10 before closing out group play against Antigua & Barbuda two days later, at the end of which the top two teams from the pool will advance to the Final Round eight-team tournament scheduled for Montego Bay, Jamaica from November 10-18 for which host and five-time champion Jamaica, and defendig champion Cuba have already qualified. The top four teams from the finals will qualify to the Concacaf Gold Cup next year.
In the two other second-round series, 2007 champions Haiti host St Kitts/Nevis, Barbados and French Guiana in Group Eight while Guadeloupe entertains Curacao, 1993 winner Martinique and St Vincent and The Grenadines in Group Nine.
The trio of 2012 beaten finalist T&T, Guadeloupe and Haiti were handed byes into the second round while Martinique, Antigua & Barbuda, Curacao and St Kitts/Nevis qualified as first round group winners.
The quintet of St Vincent & The Grenadines, French Guiana, St Lucia and Barbados were group runners-up while Dominican Republic advanced as the best third placed team.
In the first round of qualifiers, Dominican Republic ended third in Group Five after hammering Anguilla 10-0 in its final match after losing to St Vincent and The Grenadines (0-1) and Antigua & Barbuda (2-1).
Antigua & Barbuda crushed Anguilla 6-0 and edged St Vincent and The Grenadines 2-1 in its other match for maximum nine points in the group while St Lucia ended second to St Kitts/Nevis on goal-difference both on seven points. The St Lucians drew 0-0 with St Kitts/Nevis pipped Dominica 2-1 and blanked Guyana 2-0.
The CFU second round qualifiers are expected to be played during a Fifa international window, meaning coach Hart will be able to call his overseas professional should he choose too.
However, the Soca Warriors have not play any matches since facing this year’s Fifa World Cup participants Argentina (0-3) on June 4 and Iran (0-2), four days later and its left to be seen, who Hart will call up to his teamas the local Digicel Pro League is yet to kick off as well.
A source for coach though is the fact that T&T defeated all three of its group opponents in their last encounters, 4-0 over Antigua & Barbuda in 2012; 3-0 against St Lucia in 2010 and a a 9-0 hammering of Dominican Republic in 2008.