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Jamaica aim for winning start against St Lucia
February 10, 2025
Jamaica's Under-17 Reggae Boyz will begin their quest to qualify for a third FIFA championship, when they take on St Lucia in their opening game in Group H of the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers in Guatemala, at the Estadio Cementos Progreso, at 5 p.m.
The Young Reggae Boyz have been placed in a group with the Cayman Islands, St Lucia and El Salvador, and assistant coach Vassell Reynolds said though they are not taking anything for granted, they are confident of making a winning start.
"We have been preparing for a good period of time, from last year April, so we are satisfied with the period of preparation and what we would have accomplished over the period.
"We have done all we can and it's now up to the boys to execute. We arrived yesterday (Saturday) in Guatemala and got in two light sessions and the boys seem to be settling in and I think we ready," he said.
"We are focusing on St Lucia and we are hoping and planning to get off to a positive start. We would have gotten some information on them. But we are approaching each game like a final. So we are not taking anything for granted and that is how we plan to approach the St Lucia team.
"We have done our homework and the real aim is to win all three games. But we are very confident that we will get off to a good start against St Lucia. So we are confident, but not overconfident."
Winners of the eight qualification groups will advance directly to the 2025 U17 World Cup in Qatar in November, and the battle for group honours is expected to be between Jamaica and El Salvador.
However, Reynolds say they must guard against complacency in the first two matches.
"We are not taking anything for granted and we are guarding the team against complacency. St Lucia, Cayman and El Salvador, on paper one would think the El Salvador team, which is our last game, will be the decider.
"But we will have to get the other two games out of the way. That last game against El Salvador can only be the crucial game if we win the first two.
"But the aim really is to win all three games as that is the only way you can guarantee winning a spot to Qatar," he pointed out.
He added also that they have a full complement of players to choose from.
"From the squad that was selected we have all of the team at our disposal. The boys are in good spirits, there are no injury concerns and we are just hoping for the best come tomorrow (today)."
