Wednesday is a very important day for the Reggae Boyz who will face off against Costa Rica at 8 p.m at the ‘Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica’, to win their first World Cup qualifying match of the 2022 Qatar campaign. So far, the Boyz have lost their first two matches of the qualifiers which places them early on in the competition in a very disadvantageous position since all of the teams in their group have already secured one point or more.
From an even broader perspective, the Reggae Boyz has a lot of work to do to improve on their ability to win, as they have lost their last four matches.
Earlier this year on the 16th of July the team did very well to outplay Guadeloupe in a 2-1 victory, however, all that changed when they faced off against Costa Rica and lost 1-0. The losing trend continued even though head coach Theodore Whitmore made important adjustments to the team that made him and the JFF think for a moment, that they could have garnered a victory over the United States men’s football team.
That dream was short-lived even though the boyz played a highly defensive match on July 25th, as they lost 1-0 to the USMNT. The loss against the USMNT was very critical in their Journey towards winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup however, the 1-0 beating had them eliminated at the quarter-final stage.
From that point on the reggae, Boyz decided that they would set their eyes on the World Cup qualifiers, where they would have an opportunity at playing in the 2022 globally revered event scheduled for Qatar.
The Boyz were in for a surprise as their first qualifying match on September 2nd against Mexico, resulted in a 2-1 loss even though coach Theodore Whitmore had approximately 35 players, based overseas to join the squad. Many of the overseas-based players that play for English clubs did not get an opportunity to take part in the game against Mexico, due to them having to be quarantined before travelling to countries deemed to be in the red zone by the UK.
The script was flipped however as those who travelled in from abroad were able to take part in the game against Panama. To the surprise of many, the reggae Boyz received a 3-0 whipping that contradicted the idea that having foreign-based players on the team would give them a chance of winning the match.
The Reggae Boyz now look toward playing Costa Rica once more however, if this match is not won, then it will be five straight losses for Jamaica.
In getting the team organized there was a bit of issue with the visas of Kemar ‘Taxi’ Lawrence and Norman Campbell however, that issue has since been sorted out and the two players are now reunited with the rest of the team despite them being previously denied to travel.
When it comes on to the World Cup, many Jamaicans regard the international sporting event on a very sentimental level which always creates a spur of excitement whenever the Boyz have their qualifying matches. At this time though many people are short on confidence, with regards to the winning ability of the team due to the recent games.
We will only need the wait on Wednesday to see just how much the team is willing to step up their pace, to gain a victory see you then.
