‘Whatever it takes’
Reggae Boyz determined to make third Gold Cup final
Published:Wednesday | July 12, 2023 | 12:07 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
THEY MAY have had a shorter recovery time than they would have liked, but national captain Andre Blake says that his team is ready to do whatever is necessary to get to their third Gold Cup final when they take on Mexico in their semifinal clash tonight at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas at 9:36 Jamaica time.
The Reggae Boyz will be facing Mexico for the second time this year, after their 2-2 draw in March at the Azteca Stadium and their first Gold Cup meeting since the 2017 semifinal, which Jamaica won.
Jamaica are coming off a high-intensity 1-0 quarterfinal win over Guatemala in Cincinnati on Sunday which has resulted in a short turnaround time. However, Blake said that despite the limited recovery time, they have to be prepared to produce if they want the chance at a maiden continental title.
“I’m pretty sure most of us would have been in situations like these before. Obviously, we would have wanted to have an extra day. It is what it is. We know what we want. So we have to find a way to block out all distractions and to just know that we are willing to do whatever it takes to get somewhere,” Blake said in yesterday’s pre-game press conference.
Similar sentiments were expressed by head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, who will have to deal with the absence of Javain Brown, who was injured against Guatemala and Cory Burke, who is out because of yellow card accumulation.
“The recovery is the biggest challenge when you have such an important game plus we have a long flight and a time difference to adjust to. It’s a lot of things that need to happen within two days. That is the challenge. It was an intense game against Guatemala, too open for my taste. It took a lot out of the players,” Hallgrimsson said.
“Now it is about the professionalism of the staff and the players. Everyone is ready to play. It would be strange if a player wouldn’t be ready to play in a semifinal in a tournament like this one.”
After a turbulent Nations League campaign which resulted in the firing of Diego Cocca last month, Mexico is back in the semifinals under interim manager Jaime Lozano. Hallgrimsson was complimentary about the Mexicans and steered away from the turmoil that has engulfed the team in the last month.
“I think we are professional enough not to talk about what has been happening with the Mexican squad in their matches. It is a good team. It looks like they are finding stability. So we have big respect for Mexico. And whatever is happening there, it is not for us to discuss it,” Hallgrimsson said.
“We have gone over their strengths, powerful team, high pressing, a lot of energy on the ball, a lot of off-the-ball running into space. We need to be really careful when playing them. It’s going to be a tougher game with a higher pace.”
A 1-0 win in 2017 is the last time that Jamaica has beaten Mexico.