Jamaica suffer 5-0 humiliation at CONCACAF Under-20 Championship 

Jamaica’s Young Reggae Boyz were humiliated 5-0 by hosts Honduras in their CONCACAF Under-20 Championship at the Estadio Francisco Morazan on Tuesday.

In what could only be described as an insipid display, the Young Reggae Boyz conceded a brace from Marco Aceituna in the third and 35^th minutes, thanks in large measures to a disorganised defensive line totally void of any midfield cover.

And when left wingback Lamont Rochester was red-carded in the third minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half, it went from bad to worse.

Three minutes into the second half and the hosts added another through Isaac Diaz and substitute Jefry Marcias helped himself to two goals in the 58^th and 84^th minutes courtesy of comical defending by the Jamaicans.

The result left Jamaica in third place in Group D with one points, just ahead of cellar-dwellers Antigua and Barbuda who were thrashed 3-0 by Costa Rica.

Honduras cemented their place atop the group with maximum six points after also beating Antigua and Barbuda 3-0 on Saturday. They have advanced to the knockout stage.

Costa Rica moved up to second place in the group on four points, and are almost assured of a place in the next round, needing only a draw against Honduras to secure second place and qualification.

Jamaica will face Antigua and Barbuda on Wednesday to determine which of the two sides will more than likely claim third place and a ticket to the knockout round. 

Despite the lopsided scoreline, Jamaica could have done much better and even win the game as they had more than enough opportunities to hit the target.

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However, their softness in midfield gave the home side freedom and an uncomplicated route to create numerous chances which were never addressed by the coaching staff throughout the game.

The match statistics show that Reggae Boyz had 20 shots to Honduras’s 23, three of which were on target as opposed to seven for the home side.

Jamaica bossed the possession with 65 per cent and forced eight corners to the rivals’ three.

In fact, Jamaica created the first real chance of the game when Jahmari Clarke flashed a header just wide of goalkeeper Juergen Colindres’ left-hand post.

Then from the very next attack, Honduras took the lead on a counterattack.

In between Clarke had a few chances that he didn’t take, and later in the second half substitutes Zion Scarlett and Chad James also went close on a few occasions.

The 2022 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the final qualifying phase for the North America region ahead of the Under-20 World Cup slated for Indonesia next year. The four semi-finalists will qualify automatically for the next FIFA Under-20 World Championship, while the two finalists will earn qualification to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Teams                            P       W      D       L      Gf      Ga     Gd     Pts

Honduras                      2       2       0       0       8       0       8       6

Costa Rica                     2       1       1       0       4       1       3       4

Jamaica                         2       0       1       1       1       6       -5      1

Antigua & Barbuda      2       0       0       1       0       6       -6      0