Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz should secure a welcome victory on home soil for the first time since their Fifa Women’s World Cup appearance, when they bow into Concacaf Women’s Olympic Caribbean Qualifying action against Cuba inside National Stadium today.

The Group B feature contest is scheduled for 6:30 pm, after Barbados and St Lucia meet in the curtain-raiser at 4:00 pm. United States Virgin Islands, the other team in the group, will be idle today.

Group A, the lone six-team group, comprises host Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, and Aruba, while Haiti, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Dominica, and Grenada will contest Group C.

Like their recent World Cup accomplishment, qualification to the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Japan would again see the Hue Menzies-coached Reggae Girlz team etching their name in the annals of Jamaica’s sporting history.

Today marks the start of that journey, as only the three group winners will advance to the final round, where they will meet United States, Mexico, Canada and others, to vie for the top two spots to represent Concacaf at the Olympic Games.

With Menzies unable to make the trip due to personal and other reasons, Assistant Coach Lorne Donaldson as well as Hubert Busby will be leading the charge in his absence.

Despite being unbeaten at home over the last year and facing Caribbean opponents for the first time since their historic showing in France, Busby said the team is well aware of what is at stake, and as such, will be leaving nothing to chance.

“The players are excited to come back; obviously we love playing in front our home crowd and I think the last time we were here the crowd was vocal, so we are definitely looking forward to it.

“Getting to the Olympics is our objective, but obviously we have to take it a game at a time. Being in Jamaica is a plus for us, so we want to go out with that confidence to win those games and get to the next round,” Busby told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Having assembled in the island on Saturday evening, the team’s lone training session ahead of competition was scheduled for late yesterday evening shortly after Donaldson’s arrival.

Still, Busby believes that is no excuse for the team not to perform well, especially against a Cuban team that they defeated 6-1 inside National Stadium, and 9-0 in Edinburgh, Texas, during World Cup qualification.

“The preparations haven’t been the best because of the nature of the schedule. We have kids in college and we have players arriving a little bit late, so getting the group together has not been the best.

“But no one is making excuses at this moment; we know what is on the line and I am sure the players will be focused and ready to give their best in front of their home crowd,” Busby reasoned.

“Cuba always present a difficult challenge, they are a hard-working, organised, gritty team and they have a couple players that are quite dangerous that we need to be aware of. The last time we played them, we were able to get out pretty early, but we are expecting them to come out and compete, so it should be another tough game with Cuba,” he added.

While the general consensus is that Jamaica’s path to the final round appears a safe bet, Busby pointed out that the team, which includes a number of players from the World Cup squad, will not rest on their laurels.

“We have experienced a lot in the last two or three years and each opportunity the players have shown the resilience and ability to focus. One thing we are never guilty of is being complacent, so we are making sure that from the staff all the way down, is prepared in terms of what our roles and assignments are.

“We have a lot of professional players in the group, even though this is a younger group, but I know for sure that their focus will be on point the minute they take the field tomorrow night,” the former Reggae Boyz goalkeeper declared.

“So we are not too complacent about it, though we feel like we have a quality group of players that can make a good run to qualify for the Olympics, including the players that have come in. We have no doubt that they will contribute when called upon,” Busby ended.

Squad — Chris-Ann Chambers, Sashana Campbell, Trudi Carter, Rena Gordon, Tarania Clarke, Tiernny Wiltshire, Chinyelu Asher, Chantelle Swaby, Ricquelle Farquharson, Jody Brown, Reilly Paterson, Milan Dewkinandan, Konya Plummer, Tiffany Cameron, Khadija Shaw, Havana Solaun, Allyson Swaby, Dominique Bond-Flasza, Deneisha Blackwood, Cheyna Matthews.