KINGSTON, Jamaica – Head coach of Jamaica’s Under-17 women’s team Lorne Donaldson believes a mental battle will ensue when the young Reggae Girlz meet USA in the CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship.

The Championship will be held in Grenada from March 3-13.

Jamaica, drawn in a challenging Group B alongside powerhouse Costa Rica, defending champion Mexico and the USA, will clash with the latter in their opening fixture on March 4.

Donaldson is also the President and Executive Director of Coaching for Real Colorado, one of the leading youth soccer organisations in the United States.

Some of the players he coaches in the famed club are on US Under-17 women’s team roster.

“We know the players and we know the coaches, so we know each other style very well. I think mentally our girls have to just compete to the best of their ability, once we compete we should be fine, because we have some stuff that they don’t have all over the field,” Donaldson noted.

“We have to show them that we are not afraid and we have to have that belief that we are going to go out there and get the desired result. So on paper they (USA) look good but, when the game gets under way it’s a different situation,” he added.

Hosts Grenada, Guatemala, Canada and Haiti will contest Group A. The two finalists and the third-placed team will qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan in September.

Sherdon Cowan