ALTHOUGH Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz are in pole position to qualify for the Concacaf Nations League knockout stage, interim Head Coach Rudolph Speid says they will take nothing for granted ahead of tonight’s rematch against host Honduras at Chelato Uclés National Stadium in Tegucigalpa.

Kick-off is at 9:00. The national senior men’s team currently sit second in Group B on six points, a point behind leaders Suriname, with a game remaining. The top two teams will advance to the knockout stage and the Jamaicans can guarantee their spot with a win.

However, their lone defeat of the competition was a 0-1 loss to Honduras at the National Stadium recently, which ended Jamaica’s 13-year unbeaten streak against the Central American team.

A win for the Hondurans, who sit fourth on three points, could also see them overtake the Boyz in the standings, if they win by two goals. Speid says he’s expecting another tough contest from the hosts, with a spot in the next round on the line.

“They are a good team, a dangerous team, and that is something that the Jamaican contingent will have to contend with in these games,” he said. “They are very skillful, fastpaced, resolute, tenacious.

Even when they went down to 10 men, they were able to hold us off and get a famous victory, so we are mindful and aware of their strengths.” Striker Javon East, who scored Jamaica’s two goals in their win over El Salvador on Friday, also spoke of the difficulty ahead for the Boyz.

“We know they have good qualities, technical players, so we expect a difficult match with many fans supporting them and on a complicated pitch,” he said.

“We can’t rule out the Honduran team because they’re a good team and have a good coach, so we expect a great battle. We just have to go there and follow the coach’s instructions.” A win for the Boyz is the safest option as three teams, including Honduras, can overtake them if they drop points.

A Jamaica defeat would see Guatemala advance with a win over Suriname. If Guatemala fail to win, Martinique could still move ahead of Jamaica by beating El Salvador by two or three goals.

Speid says his main focus is getting all three points against Honduras. “We could still lose and continue the competition but we know that the safest way is to get a victory and another way is to probably get a draw, so we are aware of all the permutations,” he said.

“We understand and we see that Honduras are really a good team.

I know what has been happening — all the teams in our zone have been able to defeat each other at some point or not so I think all the teams are even, and that’s where we have to start.”

Winger Kaheim Dixon believes a win for Jamaica could help to soften the blow of missing out on last summer’s FIFA World Cup. “For the whole country it would mean everything.

We missed out on a chance in the World Cup qualifiers but now we have a chance to make it right,” he said. “It’s not just about me, but for the whole country at this point.”

After losing Renaldo Cephas, Rumarn Burrell, Isaac Hayden, Kasey Palmer and Tayvon Gray following the Honduras loss, Speid will now also be without defender Joel Latibeaudiere (injury) and striker Bailey Cadamarteri (suspended), who both started in the 2-0 win over El Salvador.

Goalkeepers — Andre Blake, Amal Knight, Shaquan Davis

Defenders — Damion Lowe, Richard King, Ronaldo Webster, Kyle Ming, Christopher Ainsworth, Miguel Freckleton

Midfielders — Dwayne Atkinson, Karoy Anderson, Brandon Cover, Courtney Clarke, Ramone Howell

Forwards — Kaheim Dixon, Tyreece Campbell, Javon East, Jahmarie Nolan, Jamone Lyle, Tajay Grant