Boyz open Gold Cup against hosts US
Tough task for Hallgrimsson in major tournament debut
Published:Saturday | June 24, 2023 | 12:28 AM
In his first continental tournament with Jamaica, national senior men’s head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson says he is very confident in his team’s ability to battle and progress as they begin their 2023 Gold Cup quest against the reigning champions and hosts the United States.
The Reggae Boyz will face the USA tonight at 9:06 in Chicago as they hope to reach the target of another deep run in the tournament similar to years past, in 2015 and 2017, where they made it to the final.
Hallgrimsson is coming off back-to-back defeats to Qatar and Jordan in their recent camp in Austria while the USA lifted their second consecutive Concacaf Nations League title. While it is an adjusted squad from the team that defeated Canada in the final last week Sunday, Hallgrimsson said that they know they have to be vigilant against a hungry team looking to prove themselves.
“I don’t think their philosophy will change in these few days, even though their squad is a little bit different from the Nations League. They will play an aggressive 4-3-3; they were impressive in the Nations League,” Hallgrimsson said in his pre-game press conference yesterday. “We know we will be facing a young energetic, mobile team that will try and suffocate us in the build-up. We have to be ready for that and I think we are.”
Among the notable call-ups for this Gold Cup squad include Everton winger Demarai Gray who secured his passport and arrived in camp during the week. While glowing about the attacking qualities that Gray possesses and how he will help the team, Hallgrimsson did not confirm if his sessions were enough to warrant starting tomorrow.
USA interim head coach BJ Callaghan said that the opener against Jamaica will be a good test for their defence, calling Jamaica’s team the most talented group that they are going to play against.
They have been able to bring in a talented group of players. I would say it is the most talented group from top to bottom that we have seen and that is something that we have to be prepared for,” Callaghan said. “We are expecting a motivated team, a team that can beat you and hurt you in different ways, in a lot of phases in the game. They look like they are playing like a team.”
The last tournament meeting against the United States was in 2021 when the Reggae Boyz were beaten 1-0 in the quarterfinals and the Americans went on to take the title.
For Hallgrimsson while noting that taking the job was an opportunity to end the long World Cup drought for the Reggae Boyz, he was focused on the immediate future, believing in the team’s chances of success in this tournament.
“I saw an opportunity to do something for a country that hadn’t made it to the World Cup in a long time. That is a long-term project. But this is an opportunity for us to see where we stand at this moment. I know during this tournament we will improve and after the tournament, we will continue to improve. But I think we have the quality to fight and go far in this tournament,” Hallgrimsson said.
Apart from Gray, the Reggae Boyz have very talented players in Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey, veteran Michail Antonio of West Ham, goalkeeper and captain Andre Blake who plays in Major League Soccer for the Philadelphia Union and Spartak Moscow forward Shamar Nicholson.
The United States will have a very young squad at the Gold Cup with many players seeking to force their way into the main squad. The most experienced player in the squad is defender DeAndre Yedlin of MLS club Inter Miami.