KINGSTON, Jamaica— Jamaica made a winning start to the Concacaf Under- 20 World Cup by beating Martinique 1-0 in their Group F game played at the St Kitts Technical Centre on Saturday.

Defender Romaine Blake scored the lone goal of the game in the 67th minute as Jamaica joined Grenada at the top of the tables after they beat Bermuda 2-1 in the first game of the double-header.

The win sets up a crucial game against Grenada on Monday as only the winners of the group will advance to the finals round of the Concacaf play-offs for the Under -20 World Cup.

This was the first clean sheet for Jamaica in a Concacaf U20 Match since June 22, 2022 when Jamaica beat Antigua and Barbuda 2-0 and Jamaica’s first win over the French Caribbean island at the U20 level since 1996 when they won 3-0.

Blake, who is on the books of the Chicago Fire, is Jamaica’s first U20 defender- since Tarick Ximenes in 2022 -to score a goal for Jamaica in a Concacaf U20 tournament in a 2-1 win over Haiti.

-Paul A Reid