Trinidad and Tobago women aim to peak in Honduras

Head coach Damian Briggs is hoping the Trinidad and Tobago women's football team can peak at the right time when they take on Honduras in their Concacaf W Qualifier in Tegucigalpa from 9 pm (TT time) on March 4. 

This is TT's second game in group F of the qualifiers, as they hammered Barbados 5-0 in Kensington in December. Also in December, Honduras fell to a 3-0 loss to group leaders El Salvador. On March 1, El Salvador made their intentions crystal clear when they drubbed Barbados 13-0 to move to the group summit on six points. On April 18, TT will host El Salvador, but before that, the girls from the land of soca and steelpan must deal with the challenge of Honduras on the road. 

"We're not trying to peak too early – we want to peak at the right time."

TT women's football team lineup for kickoff against Barbados in a Concacaf W Qualifier. Photos courtesy TTFA 

Late last month, the TT team had a six-day training camp in Panama, and Briggs believes that camp and the time spent in Honduras thus far have put the squad in a good space ahead of tonight's matchup. 

"We feel like we're on track for what we want to achieve. We're getting accustomed to the conditions, the weather, and the climate," Briggs told TT Football Association (TTFA) Media. 

"We're getting accustomed to the culture as well...the preparations have gone well. The players are quite positive. They have taken the messaging on board and what we want to do and how we want to play. It's all going quite well so far." 

Briggs said the senior players in the 23-player squad have been taking the younger players under their wings, and he's eager to see them put that to good effect on the field of play. 

"At this moment, we think we're on track for where we want to be. We're not trying to peak too early – we want to peak at the right time," Briggs said.

TT women's football team coach Damian Briggs and star attacker Alexcia Ali. 

"Now, being here in Honduras again, with some of the work we've done. We hope, with everything we have done so far, that everything comes together on the evening of March 4. We hope it could culminate in the result we want to get." 

The TT squad features senior players such as Kennya Cordner, Liana Hinds, and the French-based Kedie Johnson, as well as young starlets Alexcia Ali, Kaitlyn Darwent, goalkeeper Simone Eligon and 2025 Women's Player of the Year Nikita Gosine. 

"The mood in itself is buzzing. It's an exciting time and a time where all the players believe in what we've come here to do and they believe we can get the desired result." 

Only the group winner will advance to the eight-team Concacaf W Championship in November, heightening the importance of TT's clash with Honduras. The W Championship will serve as the region's qualifier for next year's Fifa Women's World Cup. Four teams will progress automatically to the World Cup, with two other teams moving on to an intercontinental playoff. The top two teams at the W Championship will also progress to the LA 2028 Olympics. 

TT women's team for Honduras match: 

Goalkeepers: Malaika Dedier, Simone Eligon, Akyla Walcott.  

Defenders: Kaitlyn Darwent, Kedie Johnson, Javanah Moreno, Emma Schneider, Myla Schneider, Victoria Swift, Christa Waterman, Cicely Spencer Wickham.  

Midfielders: Arianna Borneo, Ty'Kaiya Dennis, Elise Franco, Natalia Gosine, Nikita Gosine, Liana Hinds, Chrissy Mitchell, Lorall Romain. 

Forwards: Alexcia Ali, Kennya Cordner, Aaliyah Prince, Gabrielle Williams.