JAMAICA’S Reggae Boyz, no doubt, will be fired up for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup, fuelled in great measure by their solid showing in the recent Copa America staged in Chile.

The players, some of whom were given a short break after their last tournament, will gather in Los Angeles, California, starting today, and not yesterday as was earlier reported.

Prior to the kick-off to South America’s marquis football tournament, few gave Jamaica a chance to measure up, much more to win a game in a tough group involving double World Cup winners Argentina and Uruguay, plus Paraguay.

But against the odds and pre-tournament predictions of a flooded Jamaican goal, the Boyz strutted the Copa America stage with an air of respectability. They, by no means, were equal to the star-studded big guns of South America, but they were worthy antagonists.

Apart from the fact that they stood tall in the presence of giants with their unshakeable character and lion-hearted resistance, the Jamaicans demonstrated for the first time in a long time a tactical grasp and discipline that earned the respect of their opponents, and millions more who watched the games on television.

Winfried Schaefer’s Boyz had delivered on a promise that they would show the world they were capable of delivering top-class performances on a stage of

historic proportion.

In the three preliminary round matches, they lost all by the slimmest of margins, 0-1 — one indicator that the Boyz were not outplayed, even by an Argentina side pregnant with global stars led by the incomparable Lionel Messi.

With renewed respect by a Jamaican fan base that doubted the capacity of the Boyz to deliver so creditably in South America and the soaring confidence among the players themselves, the sky seems the limit when they take the field in the Gold Cup.

“We need to try to keep the bulk of the squad together going into the Gold Cup, have a good performance there, which we are confident of doing,” said midfielder Jobi McAnuff, a recognised leader on the field.

“We need to show a bit more of ourselves with the ball going forward — creating chances, scoring goals — and we believe we can do that in the Gold Cup, and the belief should be high because we’ve acquitted ourselves very well.”

Even with its rich history and celestial of stars, Schaefer is

of the view that the Gold Cup

will be tougher than Copa America for the Jamaicans.

“We must not say Gold Cup is easy. Gold Cup is more difficult than this tournament (Copa America),” the German coach had said on Chile.

The Jamaicans kick-start their Group B campaign against an emerging confederation giant in Costa Rica inside the StubHub Center in Carson City, California on Wednesday. Game time is 5:00 pm (3:00 pm Jamaica time).

That match will be followed by a 7:30 pm (5:30 pm Jamaica time) meeting between Canada and El Salvador to complete a Group B double-header.

Jamaica will then take on Canada on Saturday in Houston, Texas, before closing out the preliminary stage against El Salvador in Toronto, Canada, next week Tuesday.

Similarly to the Copa America, the top-two finishers from each of the three groups will advance to the quarter-finals, plus the best-two third-placed teams.

Defender Adrian Mariappa thinks that based on the overall performance of the team in Chile and particularly their second-half rendition against Argentina, a second-round qualification for the Boyz is a real possibility.

“For the Gold Cup, I think, we should definitely progress from our group and take it from there, but I think in that competition we definitely can get to the later rounds if we play like today,” he said.

Many online football news outlets have predicted that Jamaica will end as runners-up to Costa Rica in the group.

The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which is co-hosted by Canada for the first time, kicks off on Tuesday, and will end on July 26.

23-man squad: Goalkeepers — Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union/USA), Dwayne Miller (Syrianska/Sweden), Ryan Thompson (Pittsburgh Riverhounds/USA); Defenders — Michael Hector (Reading/England), Lance Laing (FC Edmonton/Canada), Kemar Lawrence (New York Red Bulls/USA), Adrian Mariappa (Crystal Palace/England), Wes Morgan (Leicester City/England), Demar Phillips (Real Salt Lake/USA), Alvas Powell (Portland Timbers/USA), Jermaine Taylor (Houston Dynamo/USA); Midfielders — Rodolph Austin (Unattached), Simon Dawkins (Derby County/England), Joel Grant (Yeovil Town/England), Christopher Humphrey (Preston North End/England), Joel McAnuff (Leyton Orient/England); Garath McCleary (Reading/England), Je-Vaughn Watson (FC Dallas/USA); Forwards — Giles Barnes (Houston Dynamo/USA), Andre Clennon (Arnett Gardens/Jamaica), Darren Mattocks (Vancouver Whitecaps/Canada), Allan Ottey (Montego Bay United/Jamaica); Michael Seaton (Orebro/Sweden).