Trinidad And Tobago v USA
Football: FIFA World Cup 2010
North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) Qualifiers
Wednesday 9th September 2009
Kickoff 20:00 local / midnight UK

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As stated last weekend, home teams are dominating CONCACAF qualifying - but not ALWAYS winning.

There was a 2nd away win this weekend as Mexico defeated Costa Rica 3-0 in Saprissa. The United States will hope there is another away win in the making Wednesday as they travel to Trinidad & Tobago.

Trinadad & Tobago are all but eliminated after a 4-1 pummeling in Honduras on the weekend. This is a result of gaining just 4 points from 3 games at home. They had added J. Lloyd Samuel to the squad before the Honduras game, but whe made no difference. Kenwyne Jones, the best T&T striker, has been held throughout this latest WCQ round.

These two teams met in March in the States. It was a breakout performance for the great Jozy Altidore as he earned a hat trick in the 3-0 win. It was USA domination from the beginning.

T&T defeated the USA 2-1 in the semifinal round of qualifying, but the USA had already qualified for the final stage prior to the game. It was not a full strength squad that made the trip.

The United States currently sits in 2nd position in the table based on goal differential, but they are just one point clear of 4th place. 6 points from the final 3 games will secure one of the top 3 spots. With an away game to Honduras and a visit from Costa Rica, this is a hugely important game for the Red, White and Blue.

I would expect the US to go with the same starting 11 as Saturday, with the exception being Onyewu coming back from suspension (yellow card accumulation). He was missed more than expected on Saturday and his return to the back should shore up the defense.

Bornstein should not be on the pitch to start as he was very poor and his poor clearance led to the El Salvador goal. Starting both Davies (Sochaux) and Altidore (Hull City) in the front provided a spark in the last game and I would think they will start the duo again.

GROUP RESULTS

UNITED STATES 2nd (4-1-2 13:9)
11/02/09 USA 2-0 Mexico
28/03/09 El Salvador 2-2 USA
01/04/09 USA 3-0 Trinidad & Tobago
03/06/09 Costa Rica 3-1 USA
06/06/09 USA 2-1 Honduras
12/08/09 Mexico 2-1 USA
05/09/09 USA 2-1 El Salvador

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 6th (1-2-4 8:15)
11/02/09 El Salvador 2-2 Trinidad & Tobago
28/03/09 Trinidad & Tobago 1-1 Honduras
01/04/09 USA 3-0 Trinidad & Tobago
06/06/09 Trinidad & Tobago 2-3 Costa Rica
10/06/09 Mexico 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago
12/08/09 Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 El Salvador
05/09/09 Honduras 4-1 Trinidad & Tobago

HEAD-TO-HEAD
(LAST 10 MEETINGS – 8 USA wins, 1 draw, 1 T&T win)
01-04-2009 United States 3 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago
15-10-2008 Trinidad and Tobago 2 - 1 United States
10-09-2008 United States 3 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago
09-06-2007 Trinidad and Tobago 0 - 2 United States
16-08-2005 United States 1 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago
08-02-2005 Trinidad and Tobago 1 - 2 United States
10-11-2001 Trinidad and Tobago 0 - 0 United States
19-06-2001 United States 2 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago
23-11-1996 Trinidad and Tobago 0 - 1 United States
09-11-1996 United States 2 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago

THE BETTTING VERDICT

It is very difficult to predict any away wins in this group, but this should be the perfect setup for the USA.

An almost eliminated team that is far from dominant at home while the USA is in decent form.

The Pick :

Trinidad & Tobago 0-2 USA (or 1-2)

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take the USA at 1.62 at Ladbrokes to win.