ANTOFAGASTA, Chile — They have all breathed a sigh of relief, as the long wait is over.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz will today embark on their second most important tournament in the nation’s history, Copa America Chile 2015, for one famous trophy on one continent with 99 years of history. Only the FIFA World Cup Finals hosted by France in 1998 would rank higher for this tiny Caribbean nation, a virtual lightweight in football context on this huge continent.

Uruguay, the tournament’s most successful team with 15 titles, and defending champions, oppose Jamaica in the Group B opener inside Estadio Regional Calvo y Bascunan at 4:00 pm (2:00 pm Jamaica time), while two-and-a-half hours later in La Serena at Estadio La Portada, Argentina, the second most successful team with 14 titles, and like Uruguay are two-time World Cup champions, oppose Paraguay, two-time champions of South America.

“We are happy about this, six long, long weeks and now we have one night and then we play Copa America. This is beautiful, and I’m happy about this and the players are, too,” gushed Head Coach Winfried Schaefer, shortly after returning from the mandatory pre-game press conference at the game venue last evening.

He was right. Central defender Wes Morgan, who accompanied the coach to the press conference, echoed similar sentiments.

“We have been here for over a week now, so we can’t wait to get it going. To be honest, we’ve done all our preparations, we have done it right, we’ve done our homework on the opposition. All that’s left is to get the match underway, and personally I can’t wait for it to kick off,” Morgan, the Leicester Cuty captain said.

Uruguay might be the smallest of the 10 South American nations with a population of just over three million, but they are known for their big hearts and never-say-die attitude, a testament to their World Cup triumphs of 1930 and 1950. In fact, often lacking the finesse of the exponents of the beautiful game, the Uruguayans are more known for their brutal and rugged style of play, sprinkled with a bit of poise and technique. They tend to take no prisoners, and today the Jamaicans should expect no less.

They have long employed a counter-attacking style, often playing the waiting game where they try to stifle their more expansive rivals, while trying to hit on the counter. Morgan said the Boyz have prepared for this style of play.

“Obviously organisation, discipline and communication as a defender are the most important things in a team defending, so we’ve worked all week together, done our shape and we are all on the same page and are quietly confident that we are organised enough to make sure we limit their chances,” he said.

“We have done our homework on their team and they are more of a sit back and counter-attacking team, so [we] have to be prepared to not have too much possession of the ball, but at the same time when we do get the ball to make sure we do use it right,” the sturdy defender concluded.

Yesterday at the game venue, Schaefer again had his team simulate for the Uruguyans and he was pleased that the players have responded well for today’s battle, though he readily conceded that it will difficult for his charges, who will also need a bit of luck.

“The players worked very good in training and they know about Uruguay, as we watched everyday the DVDs and we analysed the players separately, with our strikers analysing their defenders, our defenders analysing their strikers, our midfielders analysing their midfielders, so everybody knows what to do. So now what we need is hard work, luck, and I hope the people here in the stadium support us as well,” said Schaefer.

During yesterday’s one-hour session, DuWayne Kerr tended goal and was backed by four defenders including Morgan and Michael Hector, who seems set to make his debut. Kemar Lawrence and Adrian Mariappa covered the flanks, while Captain Rodolph Austin and Jobi McAnuff anchored midfield. Garath McCleary, on the right, and Simon Dawkins, on the left, controlled midfield, with Giles Barnes roaming behind Darren Mattocks.

Kerr, the giant Sarpsborg ‘keeper, joined the team on Tuesday evening, and Schaefer believes that he should use his size and intimidate the opposing players. “I told him today he must be present in the match, he must be aggressive. The strikers from Uruguay should be telling their wingers, “please, don’t cross the ball because this guys is too intimidating”, that’s how he should be,” concluded the German coach.

The top two teams from each of the three groups advance to the knockout stage, as do the two best third-placed teams.