Boyz need to be cautious but brave, says Hallgrimsson

Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson says the Reggae Boyz will need to be cautious but brave when they take on Ecuador at the Allegiant Stadium today for their second match at the Copa America tournament.

Hallgrimsson said the focus for the team will be not to concede against their opponents as he is wary of a defensively sound Ecuador team.

"We need to be aware of that. We cannot go all in and concede a goal because it is difficult to get back against a team like Ecuador. We need to be careful but we need to be brave as well. There needs to be a calculated risk that we take."

Ecuador, like Jamaica, lost their first match of Group B action. They fell 2-1 to Venezuela after going down to 10-men after key player Enner Valencia was shown a red card in the first half.

Hallgrimsson said despite playing with a player short for most of the game, Ecuador proved why they are considered a tough opponent for even the best South American teams to break down defensively.

"They are a tough team to beat and to play against and they have managed to get good results against the biggest teams in South America," he said. "Those games are always low-scoring matches. They conceded two goals against Venezuela but this is after they had been playing one-man down for about 40-50 minutes."

Despite the caution, Hallgrimsson said the players have shown they are ready for the challenge after positive displays in the team's training sessions.

He confirmed the players in the squad have recovered from Saturday's game against Mexico, and are eager to take the field against Ecuador.

"Everybody is fit and ready and that's a good sign," he said. "We've closing into our second week. Everybody is fresh and everybody wants to play the big games for Jamaica so everybody is fighting for a spot in the team so that's a good and healthy side."

The match is set kick off at 5 p.m. Jamaica time.