World Cup qualifiers: Huge win for T&T

MIAMI, (CMC):

All the visiting teams, except Antigua & Barbuda, won their matches on Saturday in the second round of Concacaf qualification for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Caribbean Football Union (CFU) No. 4 Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) had the biggest win on Match Day 3 in this current window of qualification for the global showpiece to be co-hosted in two years' time by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

CFU No. 3 Curacao and No. 6 Suriname had predictable logged second successive wins, but CFU No. 21 Cayman Islands used home advantage to their benefit and upset the fifth-ranked Antiguans, while the Central American pair of Guatemala and Nicaragua also had easy second wins.

AT THE SKNFA TECHNICAL CENTRE: T&T crushed The Bahamas 7-1 in their Group B match in the St Kitts & Nevis capital of Basseterre after Malcolm Shaw and Duane Muckette hit braces.

Shaw struck from short distance for the opening goal in the sixth minute, connecting on a service into the box from Muckette, and returned to extend the lead of the Soca Warriors, as T&T are known, with a diagonal strike from within the box in the 66th minute.

Muckette scored twice inside the final five minutes of the first half to give T&T a 4-0 lead after Alvin Jones scored from the penalty spot in the 14th minute to put them ahead 2-0 following a tackle on Soca Warriors defender, Triston Hodge.

A long-range strike in the 43rd minute got Muckette on the cards, and he followed up with a stoppage time goal from the left side of the penalty box.

Reon Moore scored his second goal in consecutive matches in the 56th minute, and Nathaniel James struck a fierce goal in the 84th minute to round out the T&T scoring before Wood Julmis offered the only reply from the Bahamians three minutes later when he pounced on a rebound.

The Soca Warriors will take a break on the final match day of the qualifiers for this current window with four points in hand, while The Bahamas will stay in Basseterre to face hosts St Kitts & Nevis on Tuesday at the same venue.

A pair of second half goals from Juninho Bacuna and Xander Severina enabled Curacao to waltz past neighbours hosts Aruba 2-0 in their Group C contest in Oranjestad.

Bacuna broke the deadlock in the 59th minute, putting the finishing touch on an individual play inside the box from Jearl Margaritha, and Severina struck deep in second half stoppage time to secure a second consecutive win for Curacao.

Other results: Anguilla 0 Suriname 4; Cayman Islands 1 Antigua 0; British Virgin Islands 0 Guatemala 3; Belize 0 Nicaragua 4.