AHEAD of their opening match in the Concacaf Gold Cup, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz Vice-Captain Damion Lowe says he believes in the team’s ability to lift the title, with Head Coach Steve McClaren emphasising the importance of focus throughout the month-long tournament.

The national senior men’s team is set to take on Guatemala tonight at 9:00 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in California, United States. It will be the second time in the space of six days that the teams will be meeting, after Jamaica’s comfortable 3-0 win in the second-round World Cup Qualifier at the National Stadium on Tuesday.

In fact, the Boyz beat Guatemala 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Gold Cup but were knocked out by eventual champions Mexico in the semi-finals.

Jamaica have never won the tournament, now in it’s 18th edition, despite consecutive final appearances in 2015 and 2017. However, Lowe is confident they can end the trophy drought this year.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz Head Coach Steve McClaren and defender Damion Lowe speak on Sunday, June 15, 2025, before their opening Concacaf Gold Cup group stage game against Guatemala. (Photo: Concacaf Media)

“We have more experience. We have players playing all over the world and bringing different experiences and quality from their club — it has helped us to grow a lot and to make the national team more competitive,” Lowe said.

“Over the years a lot has changed but I think the fight and the belief of wanting to make our nation proud stays the same. We’ve been a pretty consistent team in this tournament — we’ve been to back-to-back finals, back-to-back semi-finals, and a quarter-final — so this year the mentality is to go all the way.”

McClaren also believes the team has what it takes to become champions but wants his team to be intentional about their effort, starting with the Guatemalans.

“We prepare like we always prepare: Make sure we respect the opponent — which we did before the game [last Tuesday] — and we respect them even more now because we know the potential that they’ve got and we know the people that they’ve got coming in as well. So it’s a case of respecting, making sure the players respect each other, the rules, but also the opponent,” said McClaren.

“We’re here to win and to do well, and to do that we must start well [today]. We must collect three points — and that will be a great start. We know it’s hard but every game is hard, the process is hard. You have to go through it but in the end, it’s worth the suffering.”

Though concerned about their attacking output in the past, the Jamaican defence has impressed McClaren — including consecutive clean sheets in their last two games.

Brentford star Ethan Pinnock will add to the defensive options available, following his absence from the Unity Cup and World Cup Qualifiers.

McClaren believes the team’s defence will be a major factor in their quest for the title.

“It’s a dilemma because at the Unity Cup, Mason Holgate did very well with Richard King then in the last game we had injury to Mason and Damion stepped in with Richard King. We’ve tried different partnerships, and defending is key, clean sheets are key to winning tournaments, and we have the solid foundation — and with that [the team] needs a good back four or five, whatever you play, and you need good defenders,” he said.

“We’ve got talent in that area and we need to be strong in that area. If we can keep clean sheets we’ll be hard to beat because we also have the talent, going forward, to win games.”

Pinnock, midfielder Bobby Reid, and striker Michail Antonio have joined the squad which played in the two World Cup qualifiers last week but McClaren could opt have the team which beat Guatemala last Tuesday remain unchanged.

Only the top two from the group, which also consists of Panama and Guadeloupe, will advance to the knockout stages.

Goalkeepers: Andre Blake, Shaquan Davis, Jahmali Waite

Defenders: Damion Lowe, Ethan Pinnock, Richard King, Kyle Ming, Dexter Lembikisa, Amari’i Bell, Greg Leigh, Mason Holgate, Joel Latibeaudiere

Midfielders: Bobby Reid, Isaac Hayden, Kasey Palmer, Jon Russell, Dwayne Atkinson

Forwards: Leon Bailey, Michail Antonio, Demarai Gray, Renaldo Cephas, Kaheim Dixon, Warner Brown, Rumarn Burrell, Romario Williams, Tyreece Campbell

Jamaica’s Reggae Boy Leon Bailey stretches during training. (Photo: JFF Media)

Jamaica’s Ethan Pinnock Photo: JFF Media

Jamaica’s Reggae Boy Kaheim Dixon runs during training in California, United States, on Sunday. Photo: JFF Media