A confident Jamaica Under-20 female football team is scheduled to depart the island today for Guatemala for the 2010 CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship set for January 20-30.

The championship will qualify three teams to the FIFA World Cup in Germany in July. Jamaica have been drawn in a difficult Group B alongside world champions United States of America (USA), Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago (T&T).

Group A consists of host Guatemala, defending champion Canada, Costa Rica and Cuba. The top two from each group advance to the semi-finals.

Head coach Vinimore ‘Vin’ Blaine knows it will be a difficult task, but is confident Jamaica can secure one of three spots to the World Cup.

“We are confident based on how we have to approach the zone. We have to go in there with a positive outlook and that alone makes me confident that we can do it. We can’t go and say there is no way we can make it. So I am quietly confident,” he said.

No Jamaican team has qualified for a FIFA world tournament since the Under-20 boys in 2001, thus very high hopes are pinned on these girls.

The young Reggae Girlz will open their campaign against the Americans on Thursday before tackling Mexico two days later and wrap up their group action against T&T on Monday.

“The USA go without saying, they are the defending world champions and are number one in the world and will be formidable… Mexico is not as disciplined as the USA, but have always had the better of us and Trinidad we match up well with. We have played them four times, defeated them three times and drawn one,” said Blaine.

“I have not seen Mexico and right now we are gearing for our first game against the USA and we have our hands full, but we will approach it positively,” he concluded.

If Jamaica advance, they will get a two-day break and resume their semi-final action on Thursday, January 28, with the championship decider set for Saturday, January 30.

The semi-final winners will qualify for the FIFA World Cup with the third and final spot being decided between the semi-final losers.

Jamaica started their Caribbean first-round qualification on September 23, 2009, brushing aside Turk and Caicos Islands 5-0 with Simone Honeygan grabbing a brace.

Then on September 27, they tore into Dominica, thrashing them 11-1 with Teashian Thomas, Sashana Campbell and Trudi Carter each netting twice.

In the Caribbean final stage in November, Jamaica edged Cuba 1-0, blanked St Kitts & Nevis 2-0 before drawing 1-1 with host T&T.

Since then, the team has been strengthened by the inclusion of several overseas-based players, as the young Girlz try to create history by being the first female team to qualify for a World Cup.

In 2006, the Jamaicans went close, but lost to Mexico 1-4 in the third-placed play-off after taking the lead.

Four years on, Blaine and his young charges will be hoping to finish at least one better and qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

In their final warm-up match here on Sunday, the Girlz drew 2-2 with an IRIE FM Media Invitational XI at Grays Inn in St Mary. Former national Under-17 player Devrow Moncieffe opened the scoring for the Media Invitational team, only for Nugene Nugent to equalise for the Girlz.

Then former national senior invitee Garnett Denton put the Media team 2-1 up, but Sherika Williams ensured parity. All the goals were scored in the second half in a game reduced to 35 minutes per half in the interest of time.

Squad — Sashagay Spence (GK), Leigh Ann Jaggon (GK US-based), Katrinia Rose (D Florida International University) Trudi Carter (MF), Tasheka Small (D), Lia Blake (D), Shanise Foster (MF), Monique Pryce (MF), Nicole Campbell (MF, Canada), Shushana Dobson (D), Sashana Campbell (MF), Nugene Nugent (MF), Cathryn Rogers (MF University of Ohio), Jamila Campbell-Henry (MF Canada), Shereen Clarke (MF Rogers State University – Tulsa, Oklahoma), Zovel Hyre (D Canada), Teashian Thomas, (F), Nesa Ralph MF, Semone Honeygan F, Shenika Williams (F).