Jamaica’s big day in football
Alvin Corneal
Published: Guardian
Sunday, July 26, 2015
JOY: Jamaica’s Joel McAnuff, top, Rudolph Austin, lower left, and Je-Vaughn Watson, right, celebrate after Jamaica defeated the United States 2-1 in a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer semifinal on July 22, in Atlanta, USA. AP Photo
Jamaica deserve to be in the Gold Cup final for more reasons than one. When it started its qualification through the CFU finals in Montego Bay some months ago, the squad appeared to be far from what the public had come to expect. Every game it played in that series appeared to be a tough battle.
At that time, the team that appeared to be best equipped for the Gold Cup was Haiti, whose style of play was attractive to look at. The Jamaicans qualified to play in the Copa America, an achievement which was probably the greatest form of motivation for the Reggae Boyz.
I was fortunate enough to be in South America when they performed much better than I had seen in the past. Their opponents, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, may have defeated them in very close encounters, but they earned their respect, even by the local SA media, which commended them on their performances.
This was the signal for their outstanding performance in the ongoing Gold Cup, where the competing countries were well known to them, with the USA and Mexico being their biggest challenges. Honestly, the decision made by Mexico to utilise some of its younger players at the Copa America was almost like an insult to the Conmebol.
They were obviously aiming at the Gold Cup and decided to hold their top players together for maximum preparation. Both these teams came to the tournament and while the Jamaicans showed a vast improvement from their South American performance, the Mexicans did not create the best impression in their route to the finals.
I did not expect Costa Rica to want the best for the Mexicans. They just do not love each other in the game of football. When they were subjected to a penalty goal in the semifinal against Mexico, they were furious.
Well, amidst all of this furor, the Reggae Boyz showed that they were more than ready for all comers. They pushed aside their early opponents, they went even further, scored two early goals against the mighty USA and battled through an atmosphere of physical and tactical combat for 40 minutes leading to their ultimate victory.
That is the reason why I give Jamaica the edge in this final. These guys are mentally ready for the job. They will probably get support from the US, Panama and Caribbean people, all of whom want Mexico to be defeated.
With the experience, form and natural talents of defenders like Michael Hector, Wes Morgan and Kemar Lawrence, midfielder Rudolph Austin, plus the outstanding series from Simon Dawkins, Jobi McCanuff and Giles Barnes, I feel confident that the Caribbean champions will win their first international trophy.
As a Caribbean person, my heart will be with them, simply because I have always believed that Caribbean citizens should give support to each other. We may be on the verge of paying tribute to the Reggae Boyz. They have worked hard and certainly deserve the best result.
