Making their Gold Cup debut on Sunday, Saint Kitts and Nevis will open the group stage by facing their Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

Nicaragua were disqualified from participating in the Gold Cup after fielding an ineligible player at the Nations League, enabling the Soca Warriors to return to this tournament, while Saint Kitts booked their place at this competition by defeating French Guiana in a one-game qualification fixture, 4-2 on penalties.

Match preview

One of the most accomplished teams in Caribbean football history will make its 12th appearance at this competition, with Trinidad and Tobago seeking their first opening match victory at the group stage since 2015.

That was the last time the Soca Warriors made it into the knockout stage of this competition, while this team have only scored in two of their previous six group fixtures at the Gold Cup.

Angus Eve will have fond Gold Cup memories as he was a part of their run to the semi-finals in 2000 as a player, their best-ever finish at this tournament.

Trinidad and Tobago are coming off a solid Nations League campaign where they suffered only one defeat in six fixtures, conceding the second-fewest goals on the B side of that competition (four).

The Soca Warriors have won six straight fixtures against Saint Kitts, beating them 2-0 the last time out in a 2022 World Cup qualifier, losing only once to the Sugar Boyz this century.

This team have yet to lose in 2023, conceding just a single goal in those six matches, while they have not lost to a CONCACAF nation since falling 2-1 versus Nicaragua in an early June 2022 Nations League affair.

Quietly, Saint Kitts have emerged as a force in Caribbean football, going unbeaten on the C side of the most recent Nations League tournament.

As you might imagine, for such a small country, there are no household names on this squad, but as a team, they have proven to be a well-balanced attacking unit, as their nine Nations League goals came from eight different players.

In the opening round of 2022 World Cup qualifying, they began to turn some heads by finishing above Trinidad and Tobago to advance into the second phase before running out of steam against El Salvador, losing that tie 6-0 on aggregate.

Austin Huggins has been in charge since their World Cup qualification campaign ended, and his side have only suffered one defeat since he was appointed, taking out Curacao and French Guiana on penalties to get to the Gold Cup.

The Sugar Boyz have not lost a match in which they had scored the opening goal since November 2019, when they gave up three unanswered strikes in a 3-1 defeat versus French Guiana.

Since that loss, they have only suffered one defeat against a Caribbean country, as they failed to score for a second successive encounter versus Trinidad and Tobago just over two years ago.

Team News

Soca Warriors goalkeeper Marvin Phillip is nine appearances away from 100, while he could surpass Khaleem Hyland for the sixth-most caps in team history should he start all three of their group fixtures, and he will have an experienced group in front of him, including Aubrey David and Joevin Jones, who between them have 159 international caps.

Kevin Molino has scored four goals in previous Gold Cup tournaments, and the Columbus Crew striker can catch Cornell Glen for fifth all-time in goals should he score in this one, Neveal Hackshaw had two goals during their recent Nations League campaign, Kareem Moses notched his first internationally at that tournament, while Levi Garcia scored for the eighth time with the national team in that competition.

Alvin Jones picked up his second goal in Soca Warrior colours last weekend in a victory over Guatemala (1-0), Malcolm Shaw is seeking his first cap for the senior side, while Sheldon Bateau collected his 50th appearance on that occasion.

Romaine Sawyers is probably the most recognizable name on this Saint Kitts squad as he currently features at club level for Cardiff City in the Championship, as does Rico Browne at Birmingham City, with the 19-year-old being one of three players selected without a national team appearance, along with Ronaldo Belgrove and Xander Parke.

Keithroy Freeman led them with four goals in their previous World Cup qualifying campaign and also added two at the last Nations League event, while Juliani Archibald is a big reason why they got to this stage, as he saved a penalty in both of their Gold Cup qualifiers.

Tyquan Terrell had the equaliser in their Gold Cup qualifying affair versus Curacao, Tiquanny Williams netted against French Guiana, while Archibald needs two more caps to match George Isaac for third all-time, though he still has a ways to go when it comes to catching the most capped Sugar Boyz player Gerard Williams, who has featured on 79 occasions.

Trinidad and Tobago possible starting lineup:
Phillip; A. Jones, Bateau, David, Hodge; J. Jones, Phillips, Fortune, Molino; Garcia, Shaw

Saint Kitts and Nevis possible starting lineup:
Archibald; G. Williams, Burley, Browne, Hanley; Somersall, Sawyers, Terrell; Sterling-James, T. Williams, Liburd

We say: Trinidad and Tobago 1-1 Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts have held their own in CONCACAF lately, and we believe their youthful exuberance and overall depth will be enough to earn them a point against a team in Trinidad and Tobago that have not been all that clinical in the attacking third, particularly in this competition.

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