File photos
From left, Fuller, Shelton, Marshall and Goodison.
Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor
WIN. THERE'S hardly any guarantee with another option for Jamaica's Reggae Boyz, who are dead set on claiming the maximum when they tackle mighty Mexico in a CONCACAF semi-final group World Cup qualifier at the National Stadium at 7 tonight.
In the group's other game this evening, second-placed Honduras (six points) host Canada (one point).
Jamaica enter tonight's game with an all-time low FIFA ranking of 116, while Mexico are 24th.
The Boyz also had an unwelcome distraction with a fight between striker Ricardo Fuller and the Stewart brothers - Demar and Damian - at Thursday night's training session.
Such bust-ups at practice sessions aren't unusual in the sport but the statistics reveal a clear indication where the Reggae Boyz need to be channeling their energies at this time.
The last time Jamaica had a fight ahead of a match against Mexico's national team, against Toros Neza in 1996, they were drubbed 6-0 at the Azteca.
Four teams are in the group that Mexico lead with nine points, three more than Honduras.
Need to climb
With half the fixtures complete and only the top two advancing, Jamaica are bottom of the barrel with one point and need to climb fast, a scenario with which Theodore Whitmore, the team's interim coach, is most cognisant.
"We are all aware of the situation. We need three points. We'll be firing from all cylinders," he told The Gleaner.
Whitmore was handed the reins, following the sacking of René Simoes, the night the team lost 2-0 in Honduras.
It was Jamaica's second loss in the quadrangular phase, as the Boyz were beaten 3-0 by Mexico in The Azteca four days earlier. Their only point came from a 1-1 away draw against Canada, when Andrew Williams scored directly from a corner.
Simoes was largely responsible for the team's historic France '98 qualification. However, he continuously ignored many of the country's most talented and experienced players in the first half of this group campaign and the poor results influenced his dismissal.
Whitmore, a former Reggae Boyz captain and two-goal scoring hero from the historic France '98 finals, completely revamped the Jamaica squad and 10 players who were not invited for the Honduras match, including eight who are being summoned for international duty for the first time in this important quadrangular phase, were drafted in.
"They know the job at hand and I think they're ready,' said Whitmore. "We have included a number of top players. But top players go on the pitch and show that they are top players. This is the type of top player we'll be looking for come Saturday."
Good players
One invitee, its most natural finisher Marlon King, who plays for English Premiership team Hull City, will miss the game due to treatment for a back injury.
This puts the impetus on scoring at the feet of Ricardo Fuller, who has been displaying good form with Premier League team Stoke City, scoring his third goal at the weekend; Luton Shelton, who did an admirable one-man front-line job in Honduras, as well as the pacy Major League Soccer duo, Dane Richards and Omar Cummings, who have also been on target for their clubs recently.
Rudolph Austin, who had a solid game in Mexico, should provide good back-up from midfield where there exists a glut of exciting talent.
On the left side, there is the option of playing captain Ricardo Gardner above full back, to utilise his attacking qualities more, as well as Demar Phillips, and Wolry Wolfe who has put in some steady shifts thus far, while Jermaine Johnson, Jamal Ryce-Campbell and Omar Daley provide decent attacking options on the right.
Certainly, they are expected to bring a combination of speed and skill that Mexico never faced in the Azteca, where they totally outclassed Jamaica but produced a scoreline that may have deceptively made the locals' performance appear halfway decent.
It is at 'The Office' where the Boyz generally establish some level of parity in World Cup qualification against Mexico though, winning once (1-0) in 1996, tying goalless the following year and losing 3-2 in 1965 and 1-0 in 2001.
Besides their excellent technique and undoubted quality, Mexico, who arrived here on Thursday evening and are coached by Swede Sven Goran Eriksson, are one of the most mobile teams in world football and they constantly pulled the Reggae Boyz apart, in rag-doll fashion, during that three-goal cruise.
Attacking team
Their attacking force is spearheaded by the very mobile Carlos Vela and youthful Giovani dos Santos, while overlapping central defender and captain, Rafael Marquez, is a real powerhouse at both ends of the pitch.
By all indications, the encounter promises to be tough as, despite their strong position, the Mexicans are seeking early qualification to the CONCACAF Finals, a six-nation qualifier which automatically advances three teams to the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa; and a fourth to a play-off for a berth.
In an interview with Associated Press coming out of Mexico, their goalie, who had very little to do in the first leg, Oswaldo Sanchez, said: "We have to qualify no matter how. I wish we can do it undefeated, but we have to make it as soon as possible."
Central defender Ian 'Pepe' Goodison has been the star of Jamaica's play during this round. Tyrone Marshall has also contributed greatly and Austin, who has largely done defensive duties at central midfield, also own a huge chunk of that block as best performers.
That the defenders have to be turning up big in practically every game does not speak well of the Boyz play in away qualifiers, a factor quite evident in the concession of six goals, with one for. All three played well in Mexico, including Williams, the only scorer this phase, who wasn't invited for a contest they need to win.
br>
Standings
CONCACAF GROUP TWO
