Boyz are still in the running
Dear Editor,
As of now the Jamaica men’s national team can qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. But to qualify automatically we need to win our last six matches.
The Reggae Boyz are currently on seven points, and if they can get 18 more points they would have 25, and I believe that can clinch third place.
Mathematics aside, we will have to hope that the Boyz do their job at home by winning the last four matches and trying to get a victory against Panama in Panama. If we can go to Canada and get a point in Canada, that’s 22 points, and that could be enough to clinch fourth place.
The January to February window is the most crucial for Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Panama, who are battling for that fourth-place spot.
Panama is the favourite to clinch fourth, but this window could take away their favourite tag if they perform poorly. In the next window, Panama and Costa Rica have two away matches and one home match compared to Jamaica, with two home matches and one away match.
If everything goes as planned for the Reggae Boyz in the next window they could get the maximum nine points, Costa Rica would get three points, and Panama zero. So, at the end of the window, Jamaica could be on 16 points, Panama 14, and Costa Rica 12.
In the the next window I don’t see Panama and Costa Rica going to Mexico and getting a point. Mexico’s only away game in the next window is against Jamaica and we need to beat them.
In the March window — the final window — Jamaica, Panama, and Costa Rica have two home matches and one away match. Jamaica faces Honduras and El Salvador at home and Canada away. Panama faces Honduras and Canada at home and USA away. Costa Rica faces Canada and USA at home and El Salvador away.
If we really want to qualify we need a camp in December to look at Major League Soccer (MLS), the United Soccer League (USL), and the Jamaica Premier League (JPL). We also need to try to get some friendlies against Haiti, Suriname, and Guatemala in December. It would be excellent if we could also organise a practice match in England for the England-based players to build chemistry among themselves.
Teddylee Gray
St Ann
teddylee.gray@gmail.com
