ATLANTA, Georgia — A former Jamaica coach, Velibor ‘Bora’ Milutinovic, says the current players pursuing the Gold Cup dream must believe in themselves if they hope to defeat the USA today and go on to possibly win the tournament.

“You need to believe, the team has some very good players and that is most important,” said the Serbian-born tactician.

“There is always a chance; all they need to do is believe in themselves, and once you believe in yourself, anything is possible,” added Milutinovic, who also conditioned the USA for four years starting in 1991.

When he left the US national set-up, he went to cross-border rivals Mexico in 1995 for two years, his second stint, having previously guided them from 1983 to 1986.

The Reggae Boyz face the USA in the first of two semi-final games today at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Kick-off is 6:00 pm (5:00 pm Jamaica time). The other match features Mexico and Panama at 9:00 pm (8:00 Jamaica time).

Militunivic, 74, who coached Jamaica from 2006 to 2007, gave the thumbs up to the Boyz for what they have done in the Gold Cup so far.

“I am happy for these guys and congratulations to the coach; they play excellent (and) everything is just fine,” he said, after the Jamaica-Haiti quarter-final match-up on Saturday in Baltimore where Jamaica won 1-0.

Milutinovic, who is a Mexican citizen, told Jamaican journalists here that he currently works for the Qatar World Cup 2022 Local Organising Committee, and he was at the Gold Cup “to observe and to share my experience”.

He has the distinction, shared by Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parriera, to have coached five different nations at the World Cup.

Milutinovic coached Mexico (1986), Costa Rica (1990), United States (1994), Nigeria (1998) and China (2002).

The journeyman coach, who was employed to lead Jamaica by the Crenston Boxhill-led JFF, was fired by current president Captain Horace Burrell on his immediate return to the post in 2007.

— SW