Jamaica will look to close out the group stage of the CONCACAF Nations League A Group B in winning style when it faces Haiti inside the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Trinidad on Sunday.
In other Group B games, Suriname hosts Grenada and Honduras engages Cuba. All games will be played at 7:00 pm (Jamaica time).
Jamaica’s dominance
Jamaica leads the group with seven points, followed by Cuba on five, Honduras on four, then Haiti on three, Suriname on two, and Grenada at the bottom on one point.
Victory for the Reggae Boyz on Sunday would cement their position atop Group B, thus advancing to the quarter-finals, where they will face either Canada or Costa Rica. If they finish as runners-up, they will face Mexico or the US for a chance to participate in the Copa America Tournament scheduled for June 20 to July 14 next year in the US.
The teams finishing third and fourth in the group stage avoid relegation from League A of the Nations League 2024/25, but do not qualify for the quarter-finals, while the teams finishing fifth and sixth in the table will be relegated to League B in the 2024/25 version of the Nations League.
The quarter-finals will be played on a home and away format in the November FIFA window. The winners on aggregate qualify for the semi-finals of the Nations League and the Copa America 2024.
However, the losers miss out on the semi-finals but head to a playoff for one last chance to qualify for Copa America 2024.
Haiti’s national team was forced to play its home games outside of the country because of gang violence and political protests inside the country for the past few years.
For Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz who were depleted with a number of withdrawals in last Thursday’s game against Grenada, West Ham United’s striker Michail Antonio has arrived in Trinidad, as did the trio of Richard King, Kyle Ming and Jahshaun Anglin to provide Jamaica with its full complement of 23 players.
Right back Tayvon Gray suffered an injury in the match against Grenada and has returned to his club for treatment.
Coach Hallgrimsson’s expectations
Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has one and only one aim – to win the game and thus remain top of the group.
“We want to win the group, we want to win the game, we think we should have done better in Jamaica vs Haiti, but we know the quality of Haiti, they can punish and they really punished us in the opening minutes of the game in Jamaica.”
The Icelander was referring to the first leg game in Kingston when Haiti surprised Jamaica with a 2-0 lead, forcing the home side to rally for a share of the points.
He continued: “We know that Haiti is fighting for their lives in Group A of Nations League so they don’t want to be relegated, and they shouldn’t be relegated, they are such a good team!”
The coach added that his players will have “to be ready for what’s coming in this match,” as they don’t want to be surprised as they were in the first meeting.
And that’s why the technical staff made the effort to get the full complement of players at its disposal. They don’t want to take any chances.
The coach believes the three players who have been added deserve their chance to be with the first team.
“They deserve it, they are among the best players in the Jamaican Premier League and they have been with us before, so they know how we are working on how we like to play, etc. We have done camps in Jamaica, we spent a quality two or three days, only defenders, so they know what we want from defenders.”
Meanwhile, Michael Hector, who played against Grenada in his first game for Jamaica since 2021, was happy to be back representing the national team.
“It was a proud moment again for me and my family, it’s been a long time since I represented the country and it was good to be back with the boys,” he admitted, even if it meant being in the presence of a number of new faces.
The Charlton Athletic defender/midfielder, who made his debut in 2015, is impressed with the quality residing in the player pool.
“The quality has improved, obviously in the attacking area, and a lot of young faces involved to freshen up the team,” he observed, hinting at the strength of the reserves and the fact that players will be pushed to excel at all times which ultimately creates healthy competition for places in the team.
The coach is expected to continue rotating his players and based on the importance of the game, it is likely that Captain and goalkeeper Andre Blake will return between the sticks, and players such as Leon Bailey, who came off the bench last Thursday, and Damion Lowe could be projected into the starting team, as likely Michail Antonio, who missed the last game.
The Jamaican squad comprises goalkeepers Andre Blake, Kemar Foster, Jahmali Waite; defenders Di’Shon Bernard, Dexter Lembikisa, Damion Lowe, Michael Hector, Greg Leigh, Richard King, Kyle Ming; midfielders Bobby Reid, Daniel Johnson, Joel Latibeaudiere, Kevon Lambert, Karoy Anderson, Jahshaun Anglin, and Demario Phillips; forwards Michail Antonio, Shamar Nicholson, Leon Bailey, Romario Williams, and Demarai Gray.
Points standings
| Teams | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| Jamaica | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Cuba | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Honduras | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Haiti | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Suriname | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 2 |
| Grenaada | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 1 |
