NASHVILLE, Tennessee — In a rematch of the 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup final, hosts the USA will oppose Jamaica in today’s second semi-finals inside Nissan Stadium here for a spot in Sunday’s grand finale at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Match time is 8:30 pm.

The US won the final 2-1 in Santa Clara two years ago to avenge a first loss to Jamaica on home soil by a similar scoreline in the semi-final of the 2015 edition in Atlanta.

And only a month ago Jamaica inflicted a second defeat on the home side on home soil with a 1-0 win in a friendly international in Washington, DC.

But there will be nothing friendly about today’s contest, to be played at a venue known to be passionate about the sport and in favour of the home team.

Jamaica’s defeat of the US in Atlanta four years ago was the first time the Americans had not progressed to the final since 2003, and they surely wouldn’t want lightning to strike at the same place twice.

Jamaica advanced to their third-straight Gold Cup semi-final following a 1-0 win over Panama, while the US progressed following a similar goal margin over Curacao. Both games were played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Sunday.

On Monday both teams flew down to Tennessee, with the Americans being the first to arrive in Nashville, with the Jamaicans arriving in the afternoon.

There was not much time between the two games and for both teams, recovery of the players is paramount.

“The recovery is the most important thing for this game, so what we do now leading up to the game is going to be very important, but I think the medical team and the trainer and everybody is handling the situation very positively,” Jamaica’s Head Coach Theodore Whitmore told the Jamaica Observer yesterday after a training session at the nearby Vanderbilt University.

Jamaica will be without central defender Damion Lowe, who was yellow-carded in stoppage time against Panama for time wasting. He had already been cautioned in the 84th minute in the second group stage game against El Salvador and has this been suspended.

While acknowledging that the second-generation player’s absence will be felt, Whitmore believes that is now water under the ‘bridge’ and the team will have to move on without him.

“It is a major blow to the team, but we have to put that behind. We have 23 players here and they are here for a reason, so we just have to find the best suitable player to fit into his position and go out there and do the job at hand,” said Whitmore.

It is expected that Michael Hector will slot into central defence just like he did when Lowe injured his back in the 70th minute against Curacao.

There should be other changes as well, as Devon Williams or Andre Lewis could come into midfield, as could Peter Lee Vassell, who has played only 76 minutes in the first game against Honduras in Kingston.

Darren Mattocks, who demanded and converted the penalty earned against Panama, despite the presence of designated spot kick takers Shamar Nicholson and Kemar Lawrence, could also see action from the start, as Whitmore continues to tinker with the team in search of more fluidity in approach during plays.

At practice yesterday, the players spent some time going through penalties and free kicks after their technical drills.

“I’m very confident. We know we have some hitches here and there, especially in the middle of the park, which is a concern. The last game against Panama we failed to connect from the middle to the final third, but we are here to grind out results regardless of the situation and come tomorrow (today) will be no different,” noted Whitmore.

On Monday midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson woke up with a swollen ankle and was seen limping around as the team made its way to the airport. However, the swelling has subsided and he trained fully yesterday and for Whitmore, it shows the player’s eagerness to put his body on the line for Jamaica.

“Je-Vaughn is one of our soldiers and he wants to play and he showed no signs of discomfort as he went through practice this morning, so apart from Lowe everybody should be fit and ready to go.”

The US have been to the semi-finals on all occasions except in 2000 when they were beaten on penalties by guest team Colombia in the quarter-finals and defender Tim Ream told the media that his team is bracing for a competitive match.

“They (Jamaica) have shown over this tournament that they start out really fast, powerful, that’s something that’s probably hard to sustain in the temperatures that we are playing in and the conditions, so for us we are expecting a fast, physical game as you always get with a team like Jamaica, and they will be very quick on counter-attacks and transitions and that is something that we will have to be wary of.”

He said that the defending champions have set themselves a target of retaining the title, but they are prepared to take it one game at a time, as recovery of the players are very important, especially after such a short turnaround period between games.

Ream also said that there are things to take from the recent friendly between the teams in early June in Washington, DC.

“I think you can take a few things from the previous game a month ago now; it’s a very different feel now, I think we had a lot of guys trying to get up to speed, fitness wise, guys coming in from Europe who had been off two, three weeks and been out of season and you bring in the guys from MLS, who had one or two days training with the team, so it was a bit of a mixed team really, with some of the young guys who were in the camp getting some good minutes, so we will look at the things we didn’t do well, sloppiness of play, and how slow and methodical we were in that game in DC, look to up the tempo and really take it to Jamaica,” he noted.

In that game Shamar Nicholson came off the bench to notch his first international goal in a 1-0 victory, only the second for Jamaica on US soil.