‘OBJECTIVES MET’

AFTER Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz booked their spot in the Concacaf Nations League quarter-finals against Mexico, interim Head Coach Rudolph Speid believes a solid foundation has been laid for future success. The national senior men’s team drew 1-1 away to Honduras at the Chelato Uclés National Stadium, which was enough to secure second place in Group B with seven points and a spot in the next round of the competition. With Guatemala beating Suriname (seven points each) and Martinique and El Salvador (four points each) drawing minutes before the game, Jamaica only needed a point to advance as they would have a better goal difference than Suriname. They looked set to top the group after Tyreece Campbell’s 27th-minute strike but Luis Palma’s stunning long-range effort earned the Hondurans a point. Speid was pleased to move on the knockout stages and gave Honduras credit for their performance. “We did what we set out to do, which was qualify for the next round. I think both Jamaica and Honduras are very happy tonight,” he said. “Honduras were very brave tonight. They had players who were making their debut in such an important game. They had to get a positive result not to be relegated, and they made a lot of changes and brought on some young players, and I think that is the way going forward. That’s really a good move by them.” Throughout the four group games which began at the end of September, Speid dealt with a number of injuries and withdrawals, but this also afforded him the opportunity to see several players making their competitive debuts, including teenagers Jahmarie Nolan and Jamone Lyle. He believes this window has given him optimism that Jamaica can compete with the best, going forward. “Jamaica is in a rebuilding phase. We carried some really young players here — a lot of them played their first game for Jamaica in this series — so I think one of our objectives has been met,” he said. “We were able to look at about 25 players over the four matches, and it will form the basis of our squad going forward. We have been able to see all the players play in top-level competition games and, based on that, we are better prepared to pick players going forward.” Honduras Head Coach Jose Molina believes his team has a bright future, despite not qualifying for the next round, after going unbeaten against Jamaica over two matches, having last done so in 2013. “If you want to achieve something you have to follow a path, and that path is the process; and what we want to achieve is qualifying for the 2030 World Cup, which is the main objective. We remain convinced that at some point the criticism will turn into something else,” he said. The Reggae Boyz will now meet Concacaf’s number oneranked team and last summer’s FIFA World Cup hosts, Mexico, in the two-legged quarter-finals next month. Jamaica will host the first leg at the National Stadium, on either November 13 or November 14, before travelling to Mexico on November 17 for the second leg. The other quarter-final matchups will see USA take on Haiti, Canada battling Guatemala, and Curacao taking on Panama. The winners will not only book their spot in the Nations League Finals in March but the Concacaf Gold Cup next summer.