Trinidad & Tobago's Mariah Shade (#3) celebrates after scoring against Mexico in the third place match of the CONCACAF Women's Championship on October 26, 2014, in Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. (Photo: Mexsport)
MIAMI – CONCACAF confirmed Monday the schedule for Trinidad & Tobago’s participation in the intercontinental play-in series, which will qualify an additional team to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015.
The Trinidadians, by virtue of their fourth-place finish in the recently concluded CONCACAF Women’s Championship USA 2014, has qualified for the playoff and will take on the South American Football Confederation’s third-place finisher, Ecuador, in a home-and-away playoff beginning November 8 in South America.
The first of the two-game series, an aggregate goal matchup administered by FIFA, will take place at the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa in Quito, kicking off at 2 PM local time (2 PM EST) on November 8. The return leg is scheduled to be played on December 2 in Trinidad & Tobago.
The winner of the series will earn one of the three remaining available World Cup berths. Twenty-one finalists are confirmed, including an all-time high of four teams from CONCACAF.
CONCACAF Women’s Championship champion United States – Women’s World Cup champion in 1991 and 1999 -- has qualified for its seventh consecutive Women’s World Cup, while CONCACAF runner-up Costa Rica will debut. The two CONCACAF Women’s Championship finalists will be joined in Canada by third-place CONCACAF Championship finisher Mexico.
World Cup host Canada also has its spot assured in the tournament. Trinidad & Tobago will increase the number to five CONCACAF representatives, if it emerges victorious from the series versus Ecuador.
The draw for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 will take place on December 6, in the National Capital Region of Ottawa-Gatineau.
