ATLANTA, Georgia — In the biblical tale, David, the future king of Israel, used a simple contraption of a sling to bring down a notorious Philistine giant named Goliath.

Though that battle has long been settled and the outcome well-known, the philosophy of the story still inspires to this day the belief that courage can overcome the most daunting of obstacles and odds.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz, the pre-match underdogs and the perceived minnows, will have their date with a giant of another kind and epoch.

The stage is set for what one hopes will be an epic battle when Jamaica face the USA in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta today at 6:00 pm (5:00 pm Jamaica time).

The Boyz have languished for years bearing the tag of Cinderella for the USA, having not been able to beat them at the senior level, until a breakthrough came in the Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifiers with Jamaica winning 2-1 in Kingston in June 2013.

The feat was historic and made headlines around the world. If Jamaica can repeat that rare victory today in front of a capacity crowd and a worldwide television audience, the headlines could once again belong to the Boyz.

In 22 meetings between the nations at this level, the USA have the impressive upper hand with 13 wins, eight draws and a defeat.

Statistics in football, in particular, are better savoured after the fact, but prior to battle, they are for the most part meaningless.

On the battleground, the most telling fact is the score line when 11 players will line up against an equal sum on the other side, and in the end, victory will go to the set that executed better on the day.

From a Jamaican perspective, that responsibility, based on how the team trained at Emory University yesterday morning, looks likely to fall at the feet of Ryan Thompson in goal, Wes Morgan and Michael Hector in central defence, Kemar Lawrence (left) and Adrian Mariappa, the wing-backs; Captain Rodolph Austin, Je-Vaughn Watson, Jobi McAnuff and Garath McCleary in midfield, while Giles Barnes should again lead the attack to be partnered by Darren Mattocks.

Mattocks and Watson would be making their return to the starting team after both players missed Jamaica’s 1-0 quarter-final win over Haiti in Baltimore on Saturday resulting from card suspension.

Watson, the irrepressible FC Dallas man, was ruled ineligible for accumulating two yellow cards over three games. Mattocks, meanwhile, was suspended for getting a second yellow card in the high-intensity group match against El Salvador in Toronto last Tuesday.

Meanwhile, assistant coach Miguel Coley says Jamaica sits on the cusp of victory on two fronts. A defeat of the USA would put them into their first Gold Cup final and it would be Jamaica’s first win over the hosts on home soil.

“It’s a fantastic feat for us as a country (to be here) and we want more and this is an opportunity for us to go to the final and we have to take it,” he told the Jamaica Observer after training yesterday.

“To beat the USA, the formula has to be to win at all cost, so it’s a tough mindset going out there to represent our country,” noted Coley, a respected schoolboy football coach.

In his view, a dominant midfield, plus “positive possession”, will be crucial as the Boyz seek to silence the American support in a sold-out Georgia Dome that will see Mexico meeting Panama in the other semi-final clash at 9:00 pm (8:00 pm Jamaica time).

“I think it’s a good game for us, first in terms of our possession, and positive possession especially… I know the players will go out there and do very well tomorrow (today),” Coley said.

Hand-picked by head coach Winfried Schaefer to be the Reggae Boyz’ assistant coach, Coley was modest in his response to what it would mean to him personally if the Boyz were to be crowned Gold Cup champions.

“It’s not about me, it’s about the team as all the goals are laid out by the team and that’s what drives us,” he said.

Defending champions USA, who rocketed into the semi-finals by crushing Cuba 6-0, will bank heavily on midfielder mastermind Michael Bradley, Kyle Beckerman, Graham Zusi and the dangerous Clint Dempsey to counter the pumped-up Jamaicans.

Dempsey signalled his intention in the last game by hitting a hat-trick.

Meanwhile, USA head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said his team is the one to beat, even though their progress in the group stage was not as seamless as he would have liked.

“I think we are definitely the team to beat in this tournament. It wasn’t perfect the way we went through the group stage of this tournament, but still it was impressive how the players handled everything,” said the German legend.