SITTING on edge took on literal meaning for me on Wednesday night as the Reggae Boyz appeared on their way to create the mother of all upsets from a Jamaican perspective and defeat Argentina in an away friendly international match.

I was so captivated by the prospects of a win that I had begun to formalise in my mind what this newspaper’s sporting headlines would be should the Boyz hang on for the unthinkable and historic win.

Parallel to that, I also pictured the headlines in Argentina, and how they would be skewed in the most sensational of ways toward embattled coach Deigo Maradona.

At the moment that San Jose Earthquake’s Ryan Johnson cleverly headed the Boyz into a 46th-minute lead, a Jamaican fairytale of dramatic proportion was taking shape — at least in my head.

But as it turned out, all in dreamland were rocked back to reality when the two-time World Cup champions scored two late goals to snatch the win at the death.

It was no surprise they did so by conjuring up the skill, character and simple know-how that have made Argentina one of football’s superpowers.

But for nearly 30,000 fans inside the Jose Maria Minella Stadium in the seaside resort of Mar Del Plata, it mattered little that the win came late. That their team faced an unfamiliar threat from a tiny adversary intent at felling a giant, is inconsequential.

But critically for Jamaica’s football programme, the real winner on the night were the Boyz. Yes, Theodore Whitmore’s men may have lost the game 1-2, but they scored crucial points in terms of application, tactical execution and courage in the face of the enemy — qualities not often demonstrated by Jamaican teams.

That the outfit of mostly local-based players was able to interpret the fundamentals of their mission and to execute against a formidable opponent spoke volumes for the state of the nation’s football raw material and the future, as we look to Brazil 2014.

The game plan was simple: Defend in numbers against an offensively dangerous opponent and then try and hit them on the counter-attack — either down the flanks or down the middle, with a lone striker.

For there was no way that the Boyz would be able to match the strides of the home team in ball possession and overall technical ability. Unfortunately, that gap remains wide.

But Jamaica’s plan worked to near perfection even up to the point where the killer goals were conceded. Truth be told, many expected a Boyz trouncing somewhere in the region of the 5-0 handed down by Argentina in France 1998.

But let’s remind ourselves that Jamaica’s football has come a long way since then.

It’s not the first time that a Jamaican outfit has tested the firmament of a South American football power. On two occasions prior, five-time World champions Brazil have been only able to defeat the Boyz by 1-0 margins, with another ending 0-0.

And not so long ago, the other South American two-time World Cup champions, Uruguay, were outclassed by a stylish Jamaica, 2-0, at ‘The Office’ in a friendly.

Yet, the Boyz struggle to get the better of their CONCACAF counterparts.

Wednesday night’s performance, I hope, even in the short term, will yield returns in the context of restoring the Boyz’s scratched image for the sake of securing matches against “high-profile” opponents.

JFF boss Captain Horace Burrell tells us the job is made ten-fold harder to get desirable opposition to engage the team now that they are currently a not so attractive brand.

Their FIFA ranking of 78th leaves more to be desired in the overall scheme of things, and further, they are not among the countries heading to South Africa 2010.

We can only hope that as a direct spin-off from the Jamaicans’ gritty rendition against the eighth-ranked Argentina, countries on their way to South Africa, in particular, will see the team as a possible protagonist who could help them fine-tune for the big stage.

And should goodwill from Wednesday’s game flow our way in terms of matches in the coming months, it would be of great benefit if most of these games are played away from home.

The logic is that these games would over time cast the team into a culture of performing strongly in hostile arenas away from the comfort of the home front, pretty much similar to what obtained two nights ago in Argentina.

Because let’s not dare forget that whatever we do now is ultimately aimed at making a World Cup repeat, and by the time the CONCACAF Qualifiers come around we would have perhaps developed a formidable and fearsome persona, not only at home, but more importantly, away.

For it is well documented that our World Cup failures are partly entrenched in our timidity playing across the seas.