Tough opener for young Reggae Boyz

THE U20 REGGAE Boyz will face a tough opening game in the Concacaf Men’s U20 Championships against the United States today at the Miguel Alemán Valdez Stadium in Mexico at 9 p.m.

The Reggae Boyz are drawn in Group A alongside US, Costa Rica, and Cuba.

This year marks Jamaica’s 21st appearance at the age-group tournament, and the team will be hoping to start their campaign with a win.

History will not be on the side of the Boyz, however, who are yet to beat the US in this tournament.

The two nations have faced each other eight times since the inaugural edition in 1962, with Jamaica’s best result, a 1-1 draw in 1964.

Since then, the US have led the head-to-head results with six wins and two draws.

Their last meeting came at the 2015 edition of the tournament where the US ran out 2-0 winners. A 2009 encounter before that resulted in a 3-0 defeat for the Boyz.

The Boyz will be depending on a mostly local squad to face the North American giants today, with several players having cut their teeth in the Wray and Nephew-sponsored Jamaica Premier League (JPL).

Listed among the squad is recent senior Reggae Boy call-up Adrian Reid Jr.

The squad also includes several overseas-based players such as former schoolboy standouts Romain Blake, now at Chicago Fire, and Alexander Bicknell of Portuguese outfit Leixões SC.

Fabian Reynolds, of Wolverhampton Wanderers, makes his return to the squad after his exploits at the Concacaf Men’s U20 Qualifiers where his goal against Bermuda helped the Boyz secure qualification to the tournament.

Following today’s match against the US, the Boyz will face Costa Rica on Monday before their final group stage match against Cuba the following Thursday.

The top-two teams, along with the best two third-placed teams, will advance to the quarter-finals.

The winners of those quarter-finals will then qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.