PHOENIX, Arizona— Win or go home.

That’s the reality facing Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz when they face Canada in the first game of double-header quarter-final action inside the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale today.

Kick-off for the play-to-finish contest is set for 4:30 pm (6:30 pm Jamaica time), with the second game between Mexico and Honduras slated for three hours later, as allowance is made for extra time and penalties if necessary.

The temperature is forecast to soar to a high of 103 degrees Fahrenheit today, but thankfully the University of Phoenix Stadium, with a capacity of 63,400, is indoors and features a fully retractable natural grass field that can be moved outside entirely — the first of its kind in North America.

It is primarily the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and the site of American college football’s annual Fiesta Bowl.

The winners of today’s games will advance to the semi-finals where they meet at the famed Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Sunday, with the final scheduled for Wednesday, July 26 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The teams last met in the Gold Cup two years ago when a Rodolph Austin strike in the first minute of second-half stoppage time carried Jamaica to victory in Houston, Texas, on their way to a first-ever final appearance.

In 2009 under Head Coach Theodore Whitmore, the Canadians had edged the Reggae Boyz 1-0 and prevented them from advancing from the group phase.

Whitmore, now in his third stint at the helm of the team, told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that his players are ready and he was confident that they have the tools to progress to the semi-finals.

“Well, we keep improving and that’s a plus for us… we have a quarter-final tomorrow (today) and we want to treat it just like the start of the competition. It is a very important game that will decide how far we go. It is a play to finish game and I think the boys know that task at hand and we are ready to go,” he said shortly after the team’s early morning practice at Scottsdale Community College.

He added: “You can’t be worrying at this stage. you have to be positive and, as I indicated earlier, we have 23 players and at all times we try to put 11 players out there to do the job, and if not then we have substitutions, so I’m pretty much confident with what we have going into the game.”

The technical staff has opted to make two changes to the starting team which faced EL Salvador — one being forced by a right hamstring injury to versatile winger Oniel Fisher — and the other by choice.

It also gives the team a bit of rotation, which could augur well if it is to advance to the semis.

“That (rotation) is very important. just like tomorrow’s game Fisher will be out and we will bring on Shaun Francis, so it’s important that the player who hasn’t got any playing time remain focused and can do a job for us,” explained Whitmore.

The Jamaicans advanced to the quarters on the back of a 2-0 victory over Curacao, followed by 0-0 and 1-1 results against Mexico and El Salvador to finish second on five points in Group C behind Mexico on seven. El Salvador ended up third on four points to earn one of the two best third-placed teams.

The Boyz have lost just once — the Gold Cup final — of their last eight games in the competition.

Whitmore has opted for a 4-4-2 formation and will include wide player Owayne Gordon on the right flank in place of Cory Burke.

The back four, which has conceded just one goal in three games, will remain intact with Jermaine Taylor and Damion Lowe playing centrally, flanked by Kemar Lawrence on the left and Alvas Powell on the right.

Kevon Lambert and Je-Vaughn Watson will continue to occupy the central midfield roles, with Francis wide left and Gordon wide right. Darren Mattocks, who has scored two goals so far and four in his last five games in the CONCACAF Gold Cup dating back to 2015, will be partnered by Romario Williams in attack.

Captain Andre Blake will tend goal.

“I have seen a bit of the Canada team and I’m confident, so I’m focusing on my team and what we need to do to come out victorious. Canada, on the other hand must be doing something (positive) why they are in this position. so regardless of the opponent, whether it be Canada, USA, Mexico we just have to focus on the job at hand, and go out there and give a good account of ourselves,” said Whitmore.

“We will approach the game just like we did against El Salvador. The problem I had was that we wanted to start the game (positively). We have seen a much better game against El Salvador in the second half, so in a quarter-final of this magnitude we want to start from get-go,” uttered the coach.

Coincidentally, the teams have arranged a friendly meeting on September 2 in Toronto, but Mattocks said there will be nothing friendly when he enters the field of play today, despite spending his first four years plying his trade with the Vancouver Whitecaps in Major League Soccer.

“I actually played with most of these guys during my time back in Vancouver, so I’ve got really great friends there, but when it comes on to the pitch my only focus is scoring goals.so we are always going to be friends off the field, but when it comes on to the 90 minutes between the lines, it’s strictly business for me,” asserted the Portland Timbers frontman.

The Canadians, the only other team outside Mexico and the United States of America to have won the Gold Cup with their lone triumph coming at the LA Coliseum against Colombia in 2000 will be hoping to reach the semi-finals for the first time in 10 years.

They have yet to lose a game this year with three wins and three draws, and Ecuadorian Technical Director Octavio Zambrano has added Orlando City striker Cyle Larin to his roster.

“We have grown as a group and as a team we have been able to bring into the game certain aspects that we like,” he said. “All in all, it has been a steady progression. Mentally we believe that we can do this.”

The “Maple Leaf” boys have seen the rise of 16-year-old sensation Alphonso Davies, who is tied for the leading goalscorer title with three goals. Then there is also Cardiff City FC striker David Hoilett who had the option of playing for Jamaica through his parentage.

So in three meetings at the Gold Cup, games between the countries have tended to be very close, with Canada winning the first meeting 3-2 in 1991 and the teams splitting 1-0 scorelines in 2009 and 2015. and if history is anything to go by, then another close contest is expected.