The United States played to a scoreless draw with Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday night in 2018 CONCACAF World Cup qualifying following a win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The 0-0 draw leaves the United States and Trinidad tied atop the Group C standings heading into the next run of qualifiers for the Russia tournament.
Gyasi Zardes and Joevin Jones had the best chances to score for their respective teams, with Jones getting a solid chance on US goalie Tim Howard early in the match. Zardes headed a ball onto the crossbar in the second half and the two teams could not break through for a score, leaving the match with a point apiece. The United States locked things down in the second half to keep Trinidad from getting any more quality chances, but the team could not score a winning goal to get the victory. US coach Jurgen Klinsmann called the match a "tricky game" and he said he was "all right" with the tie result.
The United States came into this round of matches as the favorite, but the team knew that Trinidad and Tobago would be a bigger challenge than St. Vincent. The US won 6-1 against St. Vincent, but that came after an early goal to put the Americans down 1-0. The three points over two matches for the United States gives the team a share of the group lead and there will be other tough matches ahead when things pick up.
The United States has a home and home with Guatemala and that round of games starts up in March. Tim Howard started this match after Brad Guzan played in the first game and Klinsmann used Fabian Johnson at midfield and had DeAndre Yedlin up for the match against Trinidad. The match against Trinidad is one of the tougher ones that the United States will face in this group and they made it out with a point.
Howard was making his second start since coming back to the team after the World Cup last year and Klinsmann used the 4-4-2 formation that he used in the first match. The match in Port of Spain had a loud atmosphere and the United States was able to hold tight to get the draw and now they are tied atop the standings heading into the next set of matches.