PORT OF SPAIN – Trinidad and Tobago Soccer Affiliation (TTFA) president Kieron Edwards has thrown his weight firmly behind head coach Dwight Yorke, insisting the previous Manchester United star stays the fitting man to steer the Soca Warriors regardless of a sluggish begin to their World Cup Qualifying marketing campaign.
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Competing in Group B, Trinidad and Tobago have managed only one level from their opening two fixtures — a draw with Curaçao and a defeat to Jamaica — leaving them third within the standings. With solely the group winners assured a direct berth to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico, the strain has already begun to mount.
Yorke, appointed in November 2024 with a transparent mandate to information the workforce to its second-ever World Cup, has confronted requires his resignation. However Edwards made it clear that the TTFA is standing firmly in his nook.
Edwards: “We’re behind Dwight 100%”
Talking on i95.5 FM’s 6 to 26 World Cup podcast, Edwards admitted the workforce’s begin was underwhelming however confused that endurance is important.
“I’m a bit upset from the primary two video games. I feel each Trinbagonian is a bit upset from the primary two video games — we have been anticipating extra,” Edwards conceded. “I feel we performed effectively sufficient to deserve extra, however soccer is that kind of sport. Until you place the ball inside the web and win these video games and see out 90-plus minutes, it’s important to perceive and settle for these realities.”
Trying forward, he emphasised that the upcoming fixtures will likely be pivotal.
“We’re trying ahead to the following window and the following window is a really essential one for us. We knew going into the primary window that we couldn’t qualify for the World Cup out of the primary window. Even having first window, we knew this second window is the actual one by way of setting as much as get to that final window in November to qualify — and the journey continues to be there.”
VAR controversy and missed probabilities
Edwards additionally highlighted the function of know-how in shaping early outcomes, pointing to the disallowed targets in opposition to Jamaica as a important turning level.
“Individuals would have seen in each video games that we scored three offside targets in Jamaica. The primary one was simply leaning ahead, a hairline resolution. It was the primary time utilizing VAR in qualifying as effectively, and it was to our detriment for 3 targets,” Edwards defined.
Regardless of the setbacks, he insisted Yorke’s blueprint stays intact.
“Coach Yorke, I really consider, has the plan and the imaginative and prescient by way of what he desires to do. He’s clear about it. With the extra assist of the third-generation grandparent legislation, it does widen the pool.”
Endurance within the pursuit of historical past
For Edwards, the message is obvious: whereas disappointment lingers from the opening outcomes, the marketing campaign is way from misplaced. With Yorke on the helm and reinforcements probably on the way in which, the TTFA stays centered on retaining the World Cup dream alive.
