JAMAICA’S senior men’s football team will try to end its 2024 Concacaf Nations League campaign on a positive note when they face Panama in the third-place play-off today.

The Reggae Boyz will battle the Panamanians at 5 pm (Jamaica time) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Jamaica performed admirably in their semi-final game against the United States, taking the lead with only 31 seconds on the clock through Greg Leigh and on the verge of securing a place in the final, but an own goal deep in second-half stoppage time forced extra time which the reigning champions exploited with two further goals by Haji Wright.

Corey Burke’s own goal occurred in the 96+6 minute, and Wright scored for the Americans in the 96th and 109th minutes of extra time.

Andre Blake, the captain and goalkeeper, was a powerful presence for the Jamaicans, making four saves, while Damion Lowe was another highlight with four tackles. Bobby Reid, who supplied Leigh with the goal, was also brilliant up front.

Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson praised his team for the versatile performances, especially Lowe, known as a defender who masterfully managed a midfield role.

“He [Damion Lowe] played this against Canada in the second half and did a good job so it’s a good option,” Hallgrimsson said. “We were missing some players so we wanted him to play in this position. It was a little bit in the first half; he was all over the pitch — maybe too much or his legs were tired — but this guy is such a warrior, even though he was probably finished.

“I don’t like to look at his GPS after this much but even after 90 minutes he still continued to do all he could for 120 minutes. But no, he was just one of the guys that had a brilliant performance, and I think when so many players are missing, you know, we need players to step up — and he was one of them.”

Panama, on the other hand, lost 3-0 to Mexico in their semi-final, despite having control of the game for much of the first half before conceding two goals, just before half-time, to Edson Alvarez in the 40th minute and Julian Quinones in the 43rd. Orbelin Pineda scored Mexico’s other goal in the 67th minute.

Los Canaleros will be hungry to win this game against Jamaica and improve on their fourth-place result last year.

Panama will rely mostly on Adalberto Carrasquilla and Anibal Godoy, who were prominent figures in midfield against Mexico.

Jamaica and Panama last played in Concacaf qualifying for the Fifa World Cup 2022, with Panama winning both games 3-0 and 3-2. Previously, they faced off in the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup quarter-finals, which Jamaica won 1-0.