As they get set to open their 2024 Copa America campaign, Reggae Boyz Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson and midfielder Kasey Palmer say they will need to be near perfect if they’re to get the better of Mexico at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, this evening, starting at 8:00 pm (Jamaica time).

The national senior men’s team is competing in the South American tournament for the third time in its history. The Boyz are up against their Concacaf rivals who have a decent history in the tournament.

Mexico, in their 10 outings at the Copa America, have made it out of the group eight times, including finals appearances in 1993 and 2001. Jamaica, in their two appearances, suffered six-straight defeats in 2015 and 2016 to finish bottom of the group.

However, the 2026 World Cup hosts don’t have one of the best forms coming into the competition as they’ve lost three of their last five games, including defeats to Brazil and Uruguay this month.

Hallgrimsson, though, says those results are deceiving and is expecting a tough outing from the Mexicans.

“It goes without saying that they’ve been playing against the top teams in the world and it was all good games, hard-fought games, so they come in here knowing exactly what they need to do and I don’t think losing against Brazil will take a lot of confidence away from [them],” he said.

“Mexico will always be Mexico, it’s the same style of play no matter who’s playing. There’s a little rotation in the squad but I think the playing style will be the same; they’re aggressive, they’re direct, really fast players, individually skilled players so we really need to be really compact. We need to be perfect tactically if we want to win against Mexico tomorrow,” Hallgrimsson added.

Jamaica have always found it challenging playing against Mexico as they’ve lost 22 of their 32 games, including their 0-3 defeat in the Concacaf Gold Cup last July. Their last victory was a 1-0 at the 2017 Gold Cup.

Midfielder Kasey Palmer, however, isn’t worried about the underdog tag heading into the contest.

“For us, it’s no problem who the media takes as favourite. I think it’s going to be about who turns up on the day on the pitch. We’re here, we’re confident, we fancy our chances to get out the group and we’ll see what happens on the day,” Palmer said. “I like going into a game as an underdog, I don’t mind being the one that everyone thinks we’re going to lose. People might be going to the game or watching the game thinking Mexico are going to dominate us. For me that’s fine, we know what we can do and what we’re capable of and we’re silently confident that we can come out victorious.”

Like Palmer, Hallgrimsson doesn’t mind Mexico being touted as the favourites and says Jamaica, who have never won a game in their six games at the Copa America, can create an ‘upset’.

“When it’s needed the most, they show up and they always deliver and since I came, we’ve been playing teams above the rankings and done quite well. I think we’re closing the gap between us and the biggest teams if you look at the FIFA or the Concacaf rankings, we’re closing the gap and hopefully we’ll be one of the top four teams in the region,” he said.

“We’re used to playing teams that, are on paper, are better than us. We come into this tournament, the lowest ranked team, only Bolivia is below us so we come here as the non-favourites and honestly, that suits us,” Hallgrimsson added.

Palmer says he’s confident that the Boyz have enough talent to take them over the line.

“We have many different weapons, we have a lot of pace in the team but also players that can create individual moments and brilliance to create openings. [Mexico] had difficult moments defending against some big teams and top players so we’ve watched and done our analysis on what we think we can do to break them down so we got to turn up on the day and show up in the big moments which could decide the game,” he said.

The match will be the second game of Group B, as Ecuador take on Venezuela in the opening game at 5:00 pm.

Only the top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stages.

Jamaica squad — Goalkeepers: Andre Blake, Coniah Boyce-Clarke, Jahmali Waite, Shaquan Davis.

Defenders: Amari’i Bell, Damion Lowe, Dexter Lembikisa, Di’Shon Bernard, Ethan Pinnock, Greg Leigh, Michael Hector, Jon Bell, Richard King, Wesley Harding.

Midfielders: Alex Marshall, Bobby Reid, Joel Latibeaudiere, Karoy Anderson, Kasey Palmer, Kevon Lambert.

Forwards:Demarai Gray, Kaheim Dixon, Michail Antonio, Renaldo Cephas, Shamar Nicholson.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Ecuador vs Venezuela

Mexico vs Jamaica