Bermuda national team coach Kenny Thompson has warned his troops to beware of a backlash from a wounded Trinidad and Tobago in this weekend's World Cup qualifying decider.

Sunday's showdown at the National Sports Centre represents a 'do or die' affair for the under pressure Soca Warriors, who must win by two clear goals or face an embarrassing elimination.

Crashing out in the first round of qualifying would be an absolute disaster for the 2006 World Cup finalists, who have admitted being guilty of underestimating the Gombey Warriors in the first leg.

And Thompson is aware the element of surprise has been lost following Bermuda's stunning 2-1 win over Trinidad, who will come out all guns blazing in the pursuit of revenge.

"Trinidad will certainly be more motivated for this match as they need to turn the tide around," said Thompson. "It's important we prepare ourselves both tactically and mentally because this game will be even tougher than the first leg.

"We must remain focused and be in the right frame of mind to work through the inevitable difficult times and play our football when we can. There's a lot of excitement in the camp right now, but I also expect there to be some nerves and that's not a bad thing."

Bermuda are just 90 minutes away from recording arguably the nation's greatest footballing triumph and certainly one of the biggest upsets on the Caribbean stage.

While Thompson concedes he has found it hard to refrain from romanticising about knocking Trinidad out of the competition, he stressed his coaching staff had drummed into their players the importance of not drifting their thoughts beyond the second leg.

"Qualifying for the next stage is something that's on all our minds," said Thompson. "But it's important the players don't think about what the game represents every minute of the day. They need to relax and manage their stress levels.

"There are times when you have to remain fully focused and times when you need to relax – it's important to find that balance."

The Trinidadian press have made numerous disparaging remarks since Bermuda toppled the Caribbean's top dogs, criticising Thompson's tactics and labelling the players as 'pudgy, rotund and 'sub-standard'.

As far as Thompson is concerned the negative comments have confirmed his tactics were spot-on and said the players had taken little or no notice of the jibes.

"We have to take the comments made by the Trinidadian media as a compliment," said Thompson.

"We did things Trinidad did not want us to do and that's our job. We will remain focused on what we're doing inside our group and will not pay too much attention to what is said or written about us.

"If we need a little bit extra to get us motivated then we can point to some of the comments that have been made."

Former Preston North End trialist Stevie Astwood is on standby to replace John Barry Nusum up front should the latter not recover from his hamstring injury in time.

Astwood, who trained yesterday, is cut from a similar cloth as the bustling Nusum and checked into the Fairmont Hamilton Princess hotel with the rest of squad earlier this week.

Midfielder Sammy DeGraff and winger Tyrell Burgess, who were left out of the travelling party for the first leg, are also in contention for a recall.

Sunday's match kicks off at 7.30 p.m.