One of the true minnows of world football, the Turks & Caicos Islands showed tremendous spirit in their South Africa 2010 qualifiers, despite going down again at the first hurdle.

Winning their first leg - their first-ever home game - against St. Lucia 2-1, hopes were high heading into the return fixture. However, smiles soon became frowns of frustration as a late goal saw them lose 2-0 (just a slim 3-2 on the aggregate) and head for home.

Though they tend to flutter just above the bottom of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, the islanders seem committed to building a broad base of football participation and support. And with a new national stadium and the USA-based Gavin Glinton leading their lines, TCI (who only formed their FA in 1996) will be a side to watch when qualifying for Brazil 2014 begins.