Four Tiny Tidbits On: Trinidad and Tobago

Rick Chandler|published: Fri 12th May, 14:30 2006

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The World Cup is ominously close! So that you aren't caught offside (they have that in soccer, right?), we're previewing all the participants, bringing you Four Things You Don't Know About Them. If you have a tidbit, send it along to [email protected]. Today: Trinidad and Tobago! And for World Cup previews that are even better than ours, check out That's On Point, who helped us with these as well.

• 1. CONCACAF Rules! Wooo! With Trinidad and Tobago qualifying through a playoff victory with Bahrain (and we know how hard that can be), the CONCACAF will have four teams in the WC; USA, Mexico, Costa Rica and TnT. The squad also has quite a few ties to the U.S. and MLS. Cornell Glen (Galaxy) and Avery John (Revolution) are current players, while Stern John (Avery's cousin) led the league with 26 goals in 1998 before departing for England in 1999. Keeper Shaka Hislop played college soccer for Howard University. — (thanks to Eric Race). • 2. Halt! Are You A Trinidadian or a Tobagonian?. With a population of 1.1 million, Trinidad and Tobago is the smallest country to every qualify for the World Cup. It's not in the South American Zone, even though located only seven miles off the coast of Venezuela. Citizens are officially called Trinidadians or Tobagonians. — (thanks to Mike Cardillo).

• 3. An Unscheduled Friendly, As They Say. Dwight Yorke is their most well-known player, leading the Premiership in scoring in '98-'99 for Manchester United. (He came out of retirement to help TnT qualify for the World Cup). Also a notorious carouser, he is English model Jordan's baby daddy, a fact he denied until a paternity test proved he was. — (thanks to Eric Race).

• 4. Take That, Jamaica. It was quite a party when Trinidad and Tobago won its World Cup qualifying match against Bahrain in November, with thousands dancing in the streets, jumping atop moving cars and traffic being brought to a standstill in the capital Port of Spain. Not surprising, since the islands are considered party central; the birthplace of the steelpan, calypso and limbo music styles.

(Monday: France)