No one has done more homework on the USA’s qualifying opponents than national team coach Steve Sampson, who has spent several months closely tracking the progress of his three CONCACAF rivals
Here are Sampson’s thoughts on the next U.S. opponent, Trinidad & Tobago
“Unfortunately, the tragedy in Guatemala might serve to their benefit — now they get to wait and see what happens with a couple other matches before they get to play again.
“Trinidad is surprising — they’ve put so much emphasis on the development of the national team since we beat them back in 1989.
They have exported a number of players like Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy and Angus Eve. These overseas players bring back that experience and have risen their level of play, but T&T is still the antithesis of Guatemala.
“They have tremendous individual flair but lack the cohesiveness tactically and at the back. They’re a solid team but they’re not a great team.
“They’ve made great strides, so the results in qualifying are a little bit strange. Having a loss and a tie in their first two matches at home is very difficult to swallow.
“Right now, they’re a team that is feeling a tremendous amount of pressure and they have not found a way of dealing with it.
“However, I respect them very highly and I think we have yet to see the best Trinidad team.
“Against us, they will play much better than they played either against Costa Rica or Guatemala.”