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US and T&T move in opposite directions

Two teams going opposite directions will meet in a World Cup qualifier in Port of Spain Wednesday night.

On one side, the United States comes to Trinidad & Tobago off a come-from-behind victory against El Salvador in Sandy, Utah, Saturday night, a win that puts the Americans level on points with Honduras atop the final hexagonal group. Los Catrachos, though, have the edge on goal differential.

Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore struck late in the first half for the United States after Christian Castillo put El Salvador in front on 32 minutes, capitalizing on a defensive miscue at Rio Tinto Stadium.

While the United States is all but a lock to advance to a sixth straight World Cup, the Soca Warriors dreams of returning to the tournament are all but dashed after a 4-1 loss to Honduras on Saturday night in San Pedro Sula.

Kerry Baptiste scored the lone goal for T&T, which is tied with El Salvador with five points from seven matches, alone in last on goal differential.

While their spirits are low, Trinidad coach Russell Latapy said his team’s goals have not changed.

“We know that we’re in a very difficult situation right now, but again, we have to represent our country with pride and desire,” Latapy told the media following Monday night’s training session at Hasely Crawford Stadium. “In saying that, we want to win the last few games that we have.”

A loss to the United States would mathematically eliminate the Soca Warriors.

“We’re in a situation (where) in order to qualify we have to win our three games and we have to depend on other results from the other teams, so it makes it very difficult,” Latapy said. “Again, we’re playing at home and we’re going to play to win and we’re going to look at the other results and play all the games to win and see where that leads us.”

United States goalkeeper Tim Howard isn’t sure what to expect from the Soca Warriors or the home fans Wednesday night.

“I don’t think anybody gives up, but obviously it’s deflating for them,” he said. “It’s still a home game and you wonder how their crowd will react to them. Will they get on their backs or will they give them a lift? It’s tough to say. I think the best thing for us is to go down there with the right focus and the right mindset.”

Indeed, the sole focus for the Americans is on securing three points and moving atop the group.

“They’re playing at home so they’ll have some pride,” Altidore said. “It’s hard to know what to expect, but we can’t really worry about that. We have to go and try to win the game.”

By Dylan Butler

Tags: Christian Castillo, Clint Dempsey, coach russell, Crawford Stadium, defl, Dylan Butler, El Salvador, hasely crawford stadium, home fans, Honduras, jozy altidore, Kerry, lone goal, miscue, playing at home, port of spain, Rio, rio tinto, russell latapy, san pedro sula, Sandy, sandy utah, soca warriors, straight world, t amp, three games, tim howard, Tobago, U.S., United States, Utah, world cup qualifier

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