Despite Cavalier FC having to overcome a two-goal deficit and potentially dealing with the football legend Lionel Messi, Head Coach Rudolph Speid says his team has no fear ahead of the Concacaf Champions Cup round-of-16 second-leg match against Inter Miami at the National Stadium. Kick-off is at 7:00 this evening.

The reigning Jamaica Premier League and Caribbean Cup champions went down 0-2 in the first leg at the Chase Stadium in Florida, with Tadeo Allende and former Liverpool and Barcelona star Luis Suarez giving Inter Miami the advantage.

The Javier Mascherano-coached Major League Soccer (MLS) club was without Argentine superstar Messi who watched from the stands after being ruled out due to fatigue. However, after initial doubts about his participation, the 37-year-old could play a role in today’s contest after arriving in Kingston on Wednesday evening.

Although pleased with his arrival, Speid says his team is prepared for the challenge Messi may bring.

“I’m happy that he’ll come. I’m not the type of coach that wants players not to play to win a game. I want him to come, I want him to play, I want our players to do the best they can do against him. The truth is we always had a plan if he played or if he didn’t play,” he said.

While Messi poses the biggest threat, the likes of former Barcelona stars Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are once again expected to make Inter Miami’s starting 11.

Speid, though, is confident that the team will be able to overcome the physical and mental hurdles ahead of them.

“Speaking to the players, letting them know that of course these are marvellous players, exceptional players but they’re still human,” he said. “There’s some advantages that we have. If you look on everybody’s birth paper, we have more pace than every other country in the world. I still don’t believe they’re unbeatable because there are weaknesses.”

“One thing I know is that we would have earned their respect so they’re not going to just come and leave spaces behind and the backline raggedy like they did before, so I’m expecting them to switch tactics a little bit. If they do, I’m looking at trying to expose those,” he added.

Speid is also shrugging off the doubters who already have the American-based club in the next round.

“We strive on adversity. Every time they write us off, even the [Caribbean Cup] they say we couldn’t pass the first round but we won it; we’re going to get 6-0 in the [Jamaica] Premier League final but we won it, so we strive on adversity. Don’t worry, we like these situations,” he said.

Although beating Inter Miami would be a significant achievement for Cavalier, Speid looks at the potential accomplishment from a patriotic standpoint.

“Our aim is to play better than we did in the first leg. Of course, it’s not just us, I think this is a Jamaican effort. Jamaica needs to do well so we can be taken more serious, our players will be taken more serious. So far, we’ve done well but our aim is to do better,” he said.

Cavalier midfielder, Haiti’s Shad San Millán says the players are full of confidence, despite the odds stacked against them.

“Obviously you have to go with a different mindset but I think as a team, all the players were very united, it’s very good vibes in there so I think ‘we’re all positive and confident. I don’t really think there’s a lot of nerves, we know that it’s a very big game but we’re going to go in with the same mindset which is to win the game,” San Millán said.

Cavalier are looking to become the first Jamaican team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament. The winner of the tie will face Los Angeles FC in April.

— Daniel Blake