Cavalier FC Sporting Director Rudolph Speid is confident that his players will not be intimidated when they face Inter Miami in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 game at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday.

The Cavalier delegation departed the Norman Manley International Airport on Monday afternoon for the game.

Inter Miami’s squad comprises Lionel Messi, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, as well as former Barcelona stars Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets. Despite the challenge, Speid says his squad is embracing the underdog role and is determined to put up a strong fight.

“You know my players because every time when people say Cavalier is not good, they are lucky, and the coach is not good, my players love that underdog status, and they always come up with the goods,” Speid said. “That is how they are feeling. Can we come up with the goods? That is all they are thinking about right now: Can we come up with the goods against Messi and company?”

Speid has also dismissed suggestions that his team will be overwhelmed by the occasion or outmatched by Inter Miami’s squad.

“I heard somebody saying that Cavalier is going to get nine-love and 10-love, and all sorts of love, but they don’t have a clue what is going to happen,” he said. “This is a team that, whenever we are the underdogs, that is when we come good, and that is what I am expecting in this game on Thursday.”

Speid says his players, despite their youth, are no strangers to high-level competition and he is backing them to put on a good showing over the two legs.

“The occasion is not going to be too big for us because all of these players would have played 18 international club games, so they are no rookies,” he said.

“They might be young, but they are very experienced players. Some of them would have played for Jamaica against Trinidad and Tobago in two international games recently and would have gotten their feet wet in those games. They all know what they have to do, and they are going to do the best that they can. I am backing them to come up with the goods for us.”

He also highlighted the significance of facing Messi and his star-studded team, not just for Cavalier but for Jamaican football as a whole.

“Ever since Messi and company came to Inter Miami, we have always said that if there is any team that we want to play against in Concacaf, it is this team. We have always wanted this game for a number of reasons,” Speid said. “I am not trying to be selfish, but we think that bringing him to Jamaica will be so good for Jamaica’s football because you are going to see an outpouring of players who want to play football just because Messi would have come here.”

Speid says the game transcends club football and is a proud moment for the country.

“When you think about it, it is just going to be a surreal feeling,” he said. “It is not a Cavalier thing, it is a Jamaica thing at this point in time.”

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi controls the ball during the Concacaf Champions Cup match against Sporting Kansas City at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last Tuesday. (Photo: AFP)