When they step onto the field Saturday against Ecuador, striker Kennya Cordner and her Trinidad & Tobago teammates won't be playing just for themselves or their country. They also will be competing for the entire Caribbean.
The Soca Princesses will take on the South Americans in a two-leg series that will determine the 24th and last berth for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup (FWWC) in Canada. Trinidad had two opportunities to book a spot at last month's CONCACAF Women's Championship in the United States, falling just short against Costa Rica and Mexico in the semifinals and match for third place, respectively.
"It would be such a great achievement because most of the girls on this team have been playing to qualify for the World Cup for years," Cordner told CONCACAF.com. "It's been 10 years since we've been trying to get a World Cup. If we do qualify for this World Cup, it would be a tremendous achievement, not only for us, but for Trinidad and the entire Caribbean."
A Caribbean country has never reached the FWWC, so qualifying would give the sport a big boost back home.
"We would gain the respect of the people more," Cordner expressed. "We [would have] showed them that we went out there and we fought."
Trinidad and Tobago acquitted itself well reaching CONCACAF’s final four, posting wins over Haiti and Guatemala, while falling narrowly to eventual champion USA, 1-0.
"It has boosted our confidence so much more," stressed Cordner. "A lot of people didn't believe in us before. Now they have seen what we brought to the table in tournament."
The Caribbean champion enters Saturday's confrontation confident it can bring home a result.
"We're pretty much excited, but we're not going to be overconfident, cocky going into this game," Cordner added. "We're just going to go out and do what we have been doing the last couple of months. Just go out there and play the game the best way we know how to, fight for each other and hope that we get the result we came here for."
The 25-year-old, however, was not making any grand predictions.
"At the end of the day, 22 players on the field, one ball," she finished. "The end result will be in our favor or in Ecuador's favor. We're going to go out there and give it our all."