The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup but is normally referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.

The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 48 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup final is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final.

Trinidad and Tobago have qualified for the final stages of the FIFA World Cup on one occasion, in 2006, when they qualified for the tournament in Germany, but were eliminated at the group stage. Trinidad and Tobago became the smallest nation in terms of population to reach the finals of a World Cup tournament, a feat previously held by Northern Ireland since their first World Cup appearance at the 1958 World Cup. This record was held until Iceland qualified for the first time in 2018.

World Cup record record recordYearResultPositionSquad 1930 to 1962Part of Part of 1966Did not qualify 4 1 0 3 5 12 1970 4 1 1 2 4 10 1974 9 6 1 2 27 8 1978 6 2 2 2 10 9 1982 4 1 2 1 1 2 1986 4 0 1 3 2 7 1990 12 5 5 2 13 6 1994 4 2 1 1 7 4 1998 8 2 1 5 15 10 2002 22 10 4 8 33 28 2006 Group stage 27th 3 0 1 2 0 4 Squad 20 11 2 7 30 25 2010Did not qualify 18 5 5 8 22 30 2014 6 4 0 2 12 4 2018 16 5 2 9 20 28 2022 4 2 2 0 6 1 2026 10 3 5 2 23 13 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total301204151603457230197 FIFA World Cup historyFirst Match 0–0 (10 June 2006; Dortmund, Germany)Biggest Win—Biggest Defeat 2–0 (15 June 2006; Nuremberg, Germany) 2–0 (20 June 2006; Kaiserslautern, Germany)Best ResultGroup stage (2006)Worst Result—

2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification On 12 October 2005, Trinidad and Tobago secured fourth place in the CONCACAF final qualification round, and therefore participated in a playoff with the fifth place Asian team Bahrain for a chance to enter the 2006 World Cup. After a 1–1 draw in Port of Spain, the team beat Bahrain 1–0, with a Dennis Lawrence header in Manama, to clinch their first ever qualification for the World Cup finals.

Squad

Silvio Spann was originally in the squad, but had to drop-out after sustaining a hamstring injury in the run-up to the tournament. He was replaced by Evans Wise. Head coach of Trinidad and Tobago's 2006 World Cup squad was Leo Beenhakker.

Finals Matches Trinidad and Tobago were drawn in Group B along with England, Sweden and Paraguay.

In their first match, Trinidad and Tobago held a strong Swedish side to a 0–0 draw, despite having Avery John sent off less than 30 seconds into the second half. Team captain Dwight Yorke won Man of the Match honours.

Trinidad and Tobago lost their second game of the group stage to England 2–0. Late goals from Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard secured England a place in the second round. Trinidad had hoped for a draw between Paraguay and Sweden for their best chances of getting second place but Sweden defeated Paraguay 1–0.

Trinidad and Tobago lost their third and final game of Group B to Paraguay 2–0. An own goal from Brent Sancho put them behind early in the game, and Paraguay scored a second goal late in the match from Nelson Cuevas.

Trinidad and Tobago finished last in Group B with one point, and were eliminated. They were the only team in the 2006 World Cup not to score a goal.

Group B TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts321052+37312032+1531022203301204−41Team #1  Score  Team #2Trinidad and Tobago 0–0 SwedenEngland 2–0 Trinidad and TobagoParaguay 2–0 Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago vs Sweden

GK 1 Shaka HislopRB 8 Cyd GrayCB 5 Brent SanchoCB 6 Dennis LawrenceLB 3 Avery John RM 11Carlos EdwardsCM 7 Chris BirchallCM 19Dwight Yorke (c) LM 18Densill Theobald CF 14Stern JohnCF 12Collin Samuel Substitutions:FW 13Cornell Glen MF 9 Aurtis Whitley Manager: Leo Beenhakker GK 23Rami ShaabanRB 7 Niclas AlexanderssonCB 3 Olof Mellberg (c)CB 4 Teddy LučićLB 5 Erik EdmanRM 21Christian Wilhelmsson CM 6 Tobias Linderoth CM 8 Anders Svensson LM 9 Freddie LjungbergCF 10Zlatan IbrahimovićCF 11Henrik Larsson Substitutions:FW 20Marcus Allbäck FW 18Mattias Jonson MF 16Kim Källström Manager:Lars Lagerbäck

Man of the Match: Dwight Yorke (Trinidad and Tobago)

Assistant referees: Prachya Permpanich (Thailand) Eisa Gholoum (United Arab Emirates) Fourth official: Óscar Ruiz (Colombia) Fifth official: Fernando Tamayo (Ecuador)

England vs Trinidad and Tobago

GK 1 Paul RobinsonRB 15Jamie Carragher CB 5 Rio FerdinandCB 6 John TerryLB 3 Ashley ColeRM 7 David Beckham (c)CM 4 Steven GerrardCM 8 Frank Lampard LM 11Joe Cole CF 10Michael Owen CF 21Peter CrouchSubstitutions:FW 9 Wayne Rooney MF 19Aaron Lennon MF 20Stewart Downing Manager: Sven-Göran Eriksson GK 1 Shaka Hislop RB 11Carlos EdwardsCB 5 Brent SanchoCB 6 Dennis LawrenceLB 8 Cyd Gray RM 7 Chris BirchallCM 9 Aurtis Whitley CM 19Dwight Yorke (c)LM 18Densill Theobald CF 15Kenwyne Jones CF 14Stern JohnSubstitutions:FW 13Cornell Glen FW 16Evans Wise Manager: Leo Beenhakker

Man of the Match: David Beckham (England)

Assistant referees: Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan) Kim Dae-young (South Korea) Fourth official: Kevin Stott (United States) Fifth official: Chris Strickland (United States)

Paraguay vs Trinidad and Tobago

GK 22Aldo Bobadilla RB 21Denis Caniza CB 5 Julio César Cáceres CB 4 Carlos Gamarra (c)LB 2 Jorge NúñezRM 8 Edgar Barreto CM 10Roberto AcuñaCM 13Carlos Paredes LM 19Julio dos Santos CF 18Nelson Valdez CF 9 Roque Santa CruzSubstitutions:FW 23Nelson Cuevas DF 15Julio Manzur DF 14Paulo da Silva Manager: Aníbal Ruiz GK 21Kelvin JackRB 11Carlos EdwardsCB 5 Brent Sancho CB 6 Dennis LawrenceLB 3 Avery John RM 7 Chris BirchallCM 9 Aurtis Whitley CM 19Dwight Yorke (c)LM 18Densill TheobaldCF 13Cornell Glen CF 14Stern JohnSubstitutions:DF 15Kenwyne Jones MF 16Evans Wise MF 10Russell Latapy Manager: Leo Beenhakker

Man of the Match: Julio dos Santos (Paraguay)

Assistant referees: Cristiano Copelli (Italy) Alessandro Stagnelli (Italy) Fourth official: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium) Fifth official: Peter Hermans (Belgium)

Support The Tartan Army, supporters of Scottish football, lent their support to Trinidad and Tobago, partly since they were opponents to England and also due to six of the squad members playing for Scottish clubs.

Aftermath On their return from Germany, the government awarded Leo Beenhakker and each member of the squad the country's second highest honour, the Chaconia Medal, Gold, plus TT$1,000,000 (one quarter in cash, the rest in unit trusts). As captain, Dwight Yorke was awarded TT$1,250,000, while players who had participated in qualification but not in Germany were awarded TT$250,000. Ten members of the teams' technical staff were also later awarded TT$250,000.Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : newsday.co.tt :

On 6 October 2006, thirteen of the players in the 2006 World Cup squad indicated their intention to retire from international football after friendly matches against St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Panama on 7 October and 11 October, respectively. The players alleged that the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation had reneged on various contractual commitments to the team.Vital Football, Scotland quits international scene., retrieved on 7 October 2006. This was upheld by the Trinidadian High Court in March 2011, who ordered that an interim payment of $1.14m should be made.Trinidad & Tobago players to get 2006 World Cup cash, BBC Sport, 4 March 2011

Record players Nine players were fielded in all three of Trinidad and Tobago's matches in 2006, making them record World Cup appearance makers for their country.

RankPlayerMatches1Chris Birchall3Carlos Edwards3Cornell Glen3Stern John3Dennis Lawrence3Brent Sancho3Densill Theobald3Aurtis Whitley3Dwight Yorke3

Records and statistics

Most consecutive failed qualification attempts: 10 - 1966-2002 Best results: 27th place - 2006 Fewest goals scored in one tournament: 0 - 2006 Fewest goals conceded in one tournament: 4 - 2006 Fewest goals scored by both teams in one tournament: 0 - 0 for v 4 for opponent - 2006 Longest losing streak: 2 - 15 June 2006 to present Longest winless streak: 3 - 10 June 2006 to present Oldest Trinidad and Tobago player: 37 years and 323 days - Russell Latapy - v , 20 June 2006 Youngest Trinidad and Tobago player: 21 years and 239 days - Kenwyne Jones - v , 15 June 2006 Oldest Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper: 37 years and 115 days - Shaka Hislop - v , 15 June 2006 Youngest Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper: 30 years and 52 days - Kelvin Jack - v , 20 June 2006 Most appearance by a captain: 3 - Dwight Yorke - 2006 Most appearance by a goalkeeper: 2 - Shaka Hislop - 2006 Most appearances as a substitute: 2 - Cornell Glen - 2006 Most Man of the Match: 1 - Dwight Yorke - 2006 Most matches lost: 2 - (11 player) Carlos Edwards - 2006 Brent Sancho - 2006 Dennis Lawrence - 2006 Chris Birchall - 2006 Aurtis Whitley - 2006 Dwight Yorke - 2006 Densill Theobald - 2006 Cornell Glen - 2006 Stern John - 2006 Kenwyne Jones - 2006 Evans Wise - 2006 Biggest win: 0 - None Biggest defeat: 2 - (2 times) v , 15 June 2006 v , 20 June 2006 Most goals in a match: 0 - No goals scored Most goals conceded in a match: 2 - (2 times) v , 15 June 2006 v , 20 June 2006 Most goals conceded in first half: 1 - v , 20 June 2006 Most goals conceded in second half: 2 - v , 15 June 2006 Most goals scored by both teams in a match: 2 - (2 times) 0 for v 2 for , 15 June 2006 0 for v 2 for , 20 June 2006 Most goals scored by both teams in first half: 1 - 0 for v 1 for , 20 June 2006 Most goals scored by both teams in second half: 2 - 0 for v 2 for , 15 June 2006 Fewest goals scored by both teams in a match: 0 - 0 for v 0 for , 10 June 2006 Most goals scored by a opponent player in a match: 1 - (3 times) Peter Crouch - v , 15 June 2006 Steven Gerrard - v , 15 June 2006 Nelson Cuevas - v , 20 June 2006 Most goals scored by a opponent player in first half: 0 - No opponent player first half goal Most goals scored by a opponent player in second half: 1 - (3 times) Peter Crouch - v , 15 June 2006 Steven Gerrard - v , 15 June 2006 Nelson Cuevas - v , 20 June 2006 Most goals scored by a opponent substitutions player in a match: 1 - Nelson Cuevas - v , 20 June 2006 Fastest goal conceded: 25th minute - Brent Sancho - v , 20 June 2006 (own goal) Latest goal conceded: 90+1st minute - Steven Gerrard - v , 15 June 2006 Fastest 2 goals conceded: 8 minute - v , 15 June 2006 Trinidad and Tobago own goal scored: 1 - Brent Sancho - v , 20 June 2006 (25th minute) Longest goalless streak: 3 - 10 June 2006 to present Longest goalless streak by minute: 270 minute - 10 June 2006, start the match to present Longest clean sheet streak by minute: 172 minute - 10 June 2006, start the match to 15 June 2006, 83rd minute Longest goalless streak by both teams by minute: 172 minute - 10 June 2006, start the match to 15 June 2006, 83rd minute Most consecutive matches without clean sheets: 2 - 15 June 2006 to present Most clean sheet: 1 - Shaka Hislop - 2006 Most clean sheet by a opponent: 1 - (3 times) Rami Shaaban - v , 10 June 2006 Paul Robinson - v , 15 June 2006 Aldo Bobadilla - v , 20 June 2006 Most saves in a match: 8 - Kelvin Jack - v , 20 June 2006 Most saves by a opponent in a match: 3 - Paul Robinson - v , 15 June 2006 Most goals conceded by a goalkeeper in a match: 2 - (2 times) Shaka Hislop - v , 15 June 2006