The Trinidad and Tobago national football team, nicknamed the "Soca Warriors", represents the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in international football. It is controlled by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, which is a member of CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football), the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), and the global jurisdiction of FIFA. The national team competes in the World Cup, Gold Cup, and the Nations League, as well as other competitions by invitation. The Soca Warriors lone appearance at the FIFA World Cup came in 2006, after the team defeated Bahrain 2–1 on aggregate in the CONCACAF–AFC intercontinental play-off. The team has qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup on 16 occasions with their best performance in 2000, after reaching the semi-finals, finishing third. However, the national team did experience great success at the defunct Caribbean Cup, having won the sub-continental competition ten times and runners-up on seven occasions. The separate Trinidad and Tobago national football teams are not related to the national team and are not directly affiliated with the game's governing bodies of FIFA or CONCACAF, but are affiliated with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association. History 1970s At the 1973 CONCACAF Championship, Trinidad and Tobago fell two points short of qualifying for the 1974 World Cup in controversial fashion. Trinidad and Tobago lost a crucial game on 4 December 1973 against hosts Haiti 2–1 after being denied five goals. The referee, José Roberto Henríquez of El Salvador, and Canadian linesman James Higuet were subsequently banned for life by FIFA for the dubious events of the match. 1980s to 1990s: The Strike Squad Trinidad and Tobago came within one game of qualifying for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Nicknamed the "Strike Squad" during the qualifying campaign, Trinidad and Tobago needed only a draw to qualify in their final game played at home against the United States on 19 November 1989. In front of an over-capacity crowd of more than 30,000 at the National Stadium on "Red Day", Paul Caligiuri of the United States scored the only goal of the game in the 38th minute dashing Trinidad and Tobago's qualification hopes. For the good behaviour of the crowd at the stadium, despite the devastating loss and overcrowded stands, the spectators of Trinidad and Tobago were awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1989. 2000s 2006 FIFA World Cup Trinidad and Tobago qualified