Viewing parties will be held at six locations in the Southland for Tuesday’s telecasts of the U.S.-Trinidad and Tobago 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier as the U.S. attempts to qualify for an eighth consecutive World Cup.
The telecast of the game at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad will begin at 5 p.m. in English on cable’s beIN Sports and in Spanish on UNIVERSO.
The viewing parties will be held at:
— The Auld Dubliner, 2497 E Ave., Tustin;
— Buffalo Wild Wings, 2548 E. Workman Ave., West Covina;
— Q’s Billiard Club, 11835 Wilshire Blvd., Brentwood;
— 1739 Public House, 1739 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz;
— Shannon’s On Pine, 209 Pine Ave., Long Beach; and
— Underground Pub & Grill, 1332 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach.
The parties are organized by various chapters of American Outlaws, a nationwide support group for the U.S. men’s and women’s national soccer teams.
A victory would assure the U.S. of a World Cup berth while a tie would likely be enough to advance because of the huge goal differential the U.S. has over Panama and Honduras.
If the U.S. loses to Trinidad and Tobago, it would still qualify if both Panama and Honduras either lose or tie their games Tuesday as qualifying concludes in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.
The U.S. is third in the six-team qualifying group with a 3-3-3 record for 12 points. Trinidad and Tobago is last in the six-team field with a 1-8-0 record for three points.
The top three finishers are assured of berths in the 2018 World Cup, while the fourth-place finisher will play a home-and-home series with the fifth- place finisher from the Asian Football Confederation for a World Cup berth. Mexico and Costa Rica have already assured themselves of World Cup berths.
The U.S. is 28th in the rankings compiled by FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, and Trinidad and Tobago, known as the Soca Warriors, is tied for 99th.
The U.S. is 18-2-4 against Trinidad and Tobago, including a 2-0 victory June 8 in Commerce City, Colorado in an earlier qualifier. The U.S. is 13-1-3 against Trinidad and Tobago in World Cup qualifying.
The 25-player U.S. roster includes four players who played on the high school or club level in Orange County — Hamburg SV forward Bobby Wood (Irvine Strikers), Santos Laguna defender Jorge Villafana (Anaheim High), Club Tijuana defender Michael Orozco (Irvine Strikers) and Sporting Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber (Northview High School, Irvine Strikers.)
Wood scored the final goal in Friday’s 4-0 win over Panama in a qualifier in Orlando, Florida. Villafana played all 90 minutes. Feilhaber was in uniform but did not play. Orozco was not in uniform.
The U.S. team consists of 17 players who play in Major League Soccer, three each in England and Mexico and two in Germany.
Trinidad and Tobago’s 22-player roster consists of 10 players who play in Trinidad and Tobago, two in Major League Soccer, four in lower-division U.S. leagues, two in Honduras, and one each in El Salvador, Mexico, Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.
Defender Mekeil Williams is a teammate of U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard with MLS’ Colorado Rapids. Midfielder Joevin Jones is a teammate of U.S. forward Clint Dempsey with MLS’ Seattle Sounders FC.
–City News Service