Trinidad and Tobago's Kelvin Jack (left), Dennis Lawrence (centre) and Marvin Andrews (right) celebrate at the end of their match after beating Bahrain during the second leg of the FIFA World Cup 2006 qualifying play-off at Bahrain National Stadium in Manama yesterday. Trinidad won 1-0 to advance to the World Cup. - REUTERS
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP):
TRINIDAD AND Tobago qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time yesterday, beating Bahrain 1-0 and advancing to the final tournament with a 2-1 aggregate win.
Dennis Lawrence scored the only goal in the 49th minute with a header off a cross from Dwight Yorke. The teams drew 1-1 on Saturday in the first leg of the playoff series.
Bahrain finished the match with 10 men after Hussain Ali was sent off in injury time for kicking the ball away from Trinidad goalkeeper Kelvin Jack as he was trying to send it downfield. Ali then put the ball in the net, but it was disallowed as Jack was still in his area.
Ali had an earlier chance to score, but Martin Anderson headed the ball out of danger after Jack had misjudged it.
Trinidad will be the least populated country at next year's World Cup finals in Germany. The Caribbean country has a population of about 1.3 million.
FOUR TEAMS FROM CONCACAF
Bahrain earlier beat Uzbekistan in an Asian play-off, while Trinidad finished fourth in the final CONCACAF qualifying group. It is the first time CONCACAF has four teams in the World Cup finals.
Previously, the closest Trinidad came to qualifying was for the 1990 tournament. Needing a draw at home in its final game, the Soca Warriors lost 1-0 to the United States, which then qualified for the event for the first time since 1950.
Trinidadians clad in their national colours - red, white and black - took to the streets of Port-of-Spain jumping and screaming, while others cried over their first entry to the World Cup finals.
"I am overwhelmed. This is history: Trinidad and Tobago, we going to Germany, Oh God!" said David Frederick, a 37-year-old construction worker.
Thousands of people left work after the victory and were celebrating on nearly every street corner in the capital, waving their country's flag. Motorists punctuated the carnival-like atmosphere by blowing their horns.
Nutor Blair, a 30-year-old Guyanese man celebrating the victory outside a pub and holding a Trinidad flag, said: "I am Guyanese, but a win for Trinidad is a win for the Caribbean."
