Jamaica vs. Mexico PREVIEW – Jamaica Eye Up Big Prize of Maiden Gold Cup Glory

July 24, 2015July 26, 2015 Neil-Monticelli Harley-Rüdd

Rejuvenated Reggae Boyz ready to rocket past Mexico in final

Jamaica chase the top prize of becoming Gold Cup champions for the first time when they tackle Mexico in Sunday’s final under the glare of the bright lights of Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

The Reggae Boyz, who kicked off their campaign with a salary stand-off with the Jamaica Football Federation prior to their opening group game, are on a four-match winning streak in the tournament and are confident of overturning ‘El Tri’.

Jamaica head coach Winfried Schäfer has brilliantly orchestrated a remarkable set of results for his minnows, including a stunning 2-1 success over co-hosts USA in Wednesday’s thrilling semi-final.

And the veteran German is aiming to add to the unexpected 2014 Caribbean Cup silverware by bagging the Gold Cup trophy, and if successful will automatically earn the Boyz a place at next year’s prestigious eight-team Confederations Cup in Russia.

The Boyz, who are on the brink of making Gold Cup history in their inaugural final against nine-time champions Mexico, will be competing in arguably their biggest match since their glory days at the 1998 World Cup finals.

Schäfer, who has transformed the squad since early November when his job was on the line, admitted: “We cannot have a party now because we still have one more match, but Bob Marley comes after the match!”

Image via www.jamaicafootballfederation.com

Football fever is running high on the Caribbean island and regardless of Sunday’s result Marley’s legendary music will be blasted throughout Jamaica after the Boyz clash with Mexico.

The battling Boyz have done enough to squeeze past opponents by a slender one-goal margin in their past four matches, just enough to deliver the knockout blow to Canada, El Salvador, Haiti and holders USA.

Mexico, FIFA ranked world no40, have appeared in seven of the past dozen finals and sneaked into their latest final courtesy of three controversial penalties in the knockout stages – beating Costa Rica 1-0 in their quarter-final clash and edging past Panama 2-1 in Wednesday’s semi-final.

Yet the South American side had to sensationally snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after trailing 1-0 to 10-man Panama with two minutes remaining.

Mexico slotted home a dubious spot-kick, which resulted in a melee between players and delayed the tie for 10 minutes, which was followed by another contentious penalty in stoppage time to book their final berth.

A leading Mexican sports newspaper even apologised to Panama for the result and the drama of the game, which saved ‘El Tri’ coach Miguel Herrera from the axe following his recent indifferent results that have seen Mexico swiftly tumble down the FIFA rankings.

But Jamaica will not be fazed by Mexico, whose four Gold Cup matches have been less than convincing since they hammered out-of-sorts Cuba 6-0 in their opening game – their only victory secured during 90 minutes.

Back-to-back extra-time triumphs through penalties in their knockout matches should mean that ‘El Tri’ come into the final with more tired legs than the Boyz. However, Jamaica are not fresh-legged as 17 of their 23-player squad were involved in last month’s three 1-0 defeats to world heavyweights Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay at the Copa America in Chile.

Striker Giles Barnes, who bagged the winning goal in Jamaica’s past two ties, explained: “We’ve made history by getting into the final and it shows what this team is capable of. As you can imagine my phone hasn’t stopped.

“We’ve shocked a few people along the way but we’ve not shocked ourselves. Now we don’t fear anybody because we put out a great team.”

Yet it has to be admitted that Schäfer has little choice but to field what can only be deemed as a secondary squad on the international stage, which overtly relies on a resilient defence and midfield athleticism on the counter-attack.

Mexico are clearly vulnerable against teams that play with pace and physicality on the break, which means that Barnes and Darren Mattocks should be given plenty of opportunities in front of goal – if the pair play like they did against co-hosts USA then Mexico will be mauled.

And Mexico have already showed their defensive frailties against Caribbean opposition, held 4-4 by Trinidad & Tobago in their final group game, which should instil even more added confidence into the Boyz.

The fact that both strikers, Barnes and Mattocks, scored terrific goals against the mighty USA means that Jamaica now have all the necessary weapons firing on all cylinders to maintain their Gold Cup momentum.

Although the Boyz have yet to really hit top gear and not cruised to victory so far, they are a disciplined well-oiled machine that has been brilliantly overhauled by Schäfer along with assistant coach Miguel Coley and goalkeeping coach Warren Barrett.

Jamaica has developed leaps and bounds since November’s stuttering start to their Caribbean Cup campaign, which they won on home soil in Montego Bay after a turnaround in fortunes.

And the opportunity for the Boyz to claim a first ever trophy outside the Caribbean in their 90-year history means that hopefully more heady days lie ahead under Schäfer.

After Sunday’s Gold Cup final the head coach will bring his Boyz to Kingston’s National Stadium on October 15 to tackle Honduras in a 2018 World Cup Qualifier.

And with the Boyz buoyant, Schäfer will be aiming to kick off the same incredible results that earned the Kingston ground the nickname of ‘The Office’ after Jamaica carved out a 50-match unbeaten run from 1995 until 2001.

And many fans, who had turned their back on the Boyz following a long-term dismal run under Theodore Whitmore and then Schäfer that culminated in last year’s laughable 8-0 thrashing at the hands of France, are embracing the recent repair job with football fever now back on the island and ready to stay.

HOW THEY REACHED THE FINAL

JAMAICA

Group games: Costa Rica 2-2, Canada 1-0, El Salvador 1-0

Quarter-final: Haiti 1-0

Semi-final: USA 2-1

MEXICO

Group games: Cuba 6-0, Guatemala 0-0, Trinidad & Tobago 4-4

Quarter-final: Costa Rica 1-0 (after extra time)

Semi-final: Panama 2-1 (after extra time)

GOLD CUP KNOCKOUT FIXTURES

July 18: USA 6 Cuba 0

July 18: Jamaica 1 Haiti 0