Audley Boyd, Assistant Sports Editor
Mexico's coach, Sven Goran Eriksson, walks on the field during a training session yesterday. - AP
HARDLY ANYONE believes Jamaica will not suffer another defeat against Mexico at the 'Azteca' today.
The Reggae Boyz are aiming to prove them wrong in an important battle against the CONCACAF kingpins in a Group Two semi-final round World Cup qualifier, at the Central Americans' fortress this evening.
Game time for the fixture, which should have been played just past noon today at 'The Office', is 5 p.m.
The passage of Tropical Storm Gustav just over a week ago damaged the Boyz's home pitch and the game was switched to Mexico City, where Jamaica have been flooded with goals during some heavy defeats in the past.
Embarrassing show
It included a 6-0 hammering during the historic quali-fying series for the 1998 World Cup Finals in France when the team flew in weeks ahead of the game, played a number of practice matches and even ended up in a brawl with a local club team.
The fact that the team still qualified for the Cup after that embarrassment shows Jamaica have some breathing space in this quadrangular group phase.
It is not one they are keen to squander just yet, even at this early stage where each of the contestants have played a match apiece.
At this very venue, where all comers are expected to fall prey to Mexico, the bosses of their turf scored a nervous, come-from-behind 2-1 victory on August 20 over Honduras to claim leadership of the group with three points.
It could be that they are becoming a bit vulnerable at The Azteca, but Jamaica - who also secured a memorable 1-2 result there on a Walter Boyd goal in the same '98 qualifying - won't be reading too much into that due to several factors.They include a losing record, Mexico's all-round strength and the high altitude, which poses significant breathing problems.
In '98, several Jamaican players had to be given oxygen during the match.
Jamaica escaped with an important yet fortuitous 1-1 result on Andy Williams' goal against a powerful Canada team, at the BMO Field in Toronto on August 20. Both countries are tied, while Honduras are pointless.
Interesting clash
Canada will host Honduras in an interesting clash in Montreal today, under pressure to secure three points after their home draw against the Boyz.
Honduras have also been stressed by their loss, though the fact it happened in Mexico some-what eases the burden because they were expected to lose there.
Only two countries will advance from this stage to the six-nation finals series that will decide the three automatic CONCACAF qualifiers for the World Cup 2010 Finals in South Africa.
A fourth gets a shot through home-and-away play-offs against
the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL (South America), and the Boyz, with Brazilian René Simoes back at the helm as Jamaica Football Federation technical director, are keen to stay in the running.
Commitment
Simoes was in charge when Jamaica made their only World Cup Finals appearance 10 years ago. He left in 2000 and returned at the turn of this year. His mandate is to qualify the team for Africa.
Against Canada, who hit the crossbar and missed a couple of solid chances, Simoes did not include in the squad a number of top players who are professionals with clubs overseas.
The Brazilian has stated his need for commitment and basically continued that trend for this match, though there are two overseas-based additions, Ricardo Fuller and Shavar Thomas.
not strong against canada
The team was not strong in offense against Canada and deliberately clogged the middle to successfully grind out a result.
"Against Canada we had so many areas that worked so well," Simoes noted, before pointing to a fault.
"The second offensive ball ... if this happens against Mexico we will be in problems," he said.
In-form striker Fuller, with splendid back-to-back goals for Stoke City, is sure to strengthen the offensive unit, with Luton Shelton and Deon Burton expected to figure up front, aided from midfield by Demar Phillips, Williams and Rudolph Austin.
Tyrone Marshall was included in the last squad but was kept out of the match by a hamstring injury. He has trained well and will assume his regular defensive position on the right flank.
On the other defensive flank, there were some concerns on Thursday night regarding captain Ricardo Gardner. He rested his groin at periods in the past two training sessions before the team left yesterday and is expected to play.
Sweeper Shavar Thomas is an interesting but not surprising inclusion which indicates Jamaica will increase their defensive numbers to provide greater coverage and leverage against what is really a higher -alibre team.
One of the marking defenders, Ian 'Pepe' Goodison, has scored against Mexico in the past in a home victory to provide one of the memorable moments against this team, whether home and away. Generally, the contests outside Mexico have been close.
qualifying history
Ranked 24th by FIFA, they have qualified for 13 World Cup Finals, making consecutive appearances since 1994. They have also hosted the championship twice, in 1970 and 1986.
They have a host of world-class players led by Barcelona's Rafael Marquez, VFB Stuttgart's Pavel Pardo, who scored a double to rescue the win against Honduras, his clubmate Ricardo Osorio, Carlos Salcido of PSV Eindhoven, Aaron Galindo of Eintracht Frankfurt and Manchester City's Nery Castillo.
But Simoes warned: "No matter how strong Mexico come, they have to be careful because we have strength too."
They generally keep the ball for long periods and utilise the passes into space very well, like when they scored a 1-0 win over Jamaica in the Gold Cup tournament in the United States in 2005-06, the last time the countries met. A pass was played over the defence from deep midfield and the one-one-one proved the winner.
If they want to prove their people wrong, the Boyz certainly can't afford similar mistakes in the Azteca.
Squad: Donovan Ricketts, Shawn Sawyers, Ian Goodison, Ricardo Gardner, Rudolph Austin, Obrian Woodbine, Andrew Williams, Jermaine Taylor, Keneil Moodie, Davion Thorpe, Evan Taylor, Jermaine Hue, Wolry Wolfe, Ricardo Fuller, Luton Shelton, Jevaughan Watson, Tyrone Marshall, Shavar Thomas, Demar Phillips.
