Stars on show! – U-20 Boyz tackle A&B in CFU Qualifier
A confident Jamaica Under-20 team will look to move closer to the 2013 FIFA World Cup in Turkey when they tackle Antigua and Barbuda (A&B) in a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) World Cup Qualifier at 7:00 pm at Stadium East field today.
All the Group B matches will be played at the Stadium East, with Cuba meeting Suriname at 5:00. Admission is $500. Spectators, however, will be able to watch free of cost the Group A matches at the Waterhouse Mini-Stadium.
Group A consists of Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Haiti and Curacao. The top two teams from each group and the best third-placed team will qualify for the 12-team CONCACAF final round set for February 18 to March 2 in Puebla, Mexico.
The young Reggae Boyz, with the core of the players who qualified for the 2011 Under-17 FIFA World Cup, are confident of advancing.
Brazilian head coach Luciana Gama told the Jamaica Observer that despite the minor setback with Hurricane Sandy, everything is set for another successful campaign.
“We are ready to start the tournament and hopefully, everything will be okay. We are confident, but we respect all the teams and we will have to win the games on the field,” said Gama.
“Every time we go in these tournaments Jamaica is expected to qualify and we must play good games to qualify the team,” he added.
Jamaica will be depending on the likes of Andre Lewis, Alvas Powell, Jorginho James, Omar Holness, Jason Wright, Paul Wilson, Kemo Wallace, Kareem Manning, Zhelano Barnes and Romario Jones.
Not much is known about the Antiguan team, but they blew away Dominica, 4-0; Grenada, 2-1, and drew, 3-3, with Curacao in the CFU first round.
Striker Elvis Thomas with six goals in the last three matches will have to be contained, and along with Tevaughn Harriette, Romario Braithwaite, Eugene Kirwan and goalkeeper Prince Walters, will be looking to upset the highly-fancied hosts.
The curtain-raiser between Cuba and Suriname should be a close affair based on results from the CFU first round where Cuba trounced Aruba, 6-1; whipped St Kitts, 4-0, and drew 0-0 with the Dominican Republic.
Suriname blanked Trinidad and Tobago, 3-0, edged St Vincent, 1-0, and lost, 1-2, against Guyana.
