Mexico are usually favourites heading into most matches in Concacaf competitions, but Jamaica Reggae Boyz interim Head Coach Rudolph Speid says his players are undaunted and confident of pulling off a major upset to put themselves in a strong position.

The national senior football men’s will take on the Mexicans this evening at 8:00 pm at the National Stadium in the first leg of the Concacaf Nations League quarter-finals.

Since the competition’s inception in 2019, Jamaica have only qualified for the semi-finals once in their history, back in the 2023/24 season when they beat Canada in the last eight.

They will now have one of their toughest tests yet as they take on the mighty Mexicans who soared to 10th in the FIFA Rankings following their Round-of-16 finish in last summer’s FIFA World Cup.

Members of Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz squad engage in their final training session at Stadium East on Friday ahead of the Concacaf Nations League quarter-final, first-leg match against Mexico at the National Stadium on Saturday. (Photos: Karl Mclarty)

The Reggae Boyz have struggled against Mexico, winning just four of their 32 meetings. Their last victory came in the 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup semi-final, with the team winless in their last six encounters since.

Speid, though, says the team is eager to prove their worth against one of the world’s best.

SPEID… these are the games that a coach would like to coach against some of the top coaches, so it’s all good

“It’s surreal to be playing against such a good team twice but there’s a reason why the game is played. It’s because the result is not guaranteed by anyone,” he said. “These are the times that you trained for as a player, these are the games you want to play if you’re really a good player and ambitious, and these are the games that a coach would like to coach against some of the top coaches, so it’s all good.”

“This is a part of our development. It’s a rebuilding squad, and we have to be forged in fire if we want to go forward in the future.”

Jamaica, who finished runners-up behind Guatemala in the group stage last month, completed their fourth and final training session on Friday morning at Stadium East field. Speid believes the extended time together has been beneficial.

“Familiarity helps, it is good. We were able to just continue what we were doing [from the last window] and add a few surprises; so I think the team is more prepared than they would have been in the qualifying rounds.”

With Mexico boasting considerable attacking firepower, including Gilberto Mora, Julián Quiñones and Santiago Giménez, Speid will have to navigate the tie without goalkeeper and Captain Andre Blake, who is sidelined with a groin injury.

“He’s probably one of the best goalkeeper in Concacaf, if not the best, so it’s a big miss for us. We’re just hoping that he’s well though and he’ll join us later on when we go further in the competition,” said Speid.

Ricky Jade-Jones, Jamaica Reggae Boyz striker

The interim boss has also had to contend with several other injury concerns and withdrawals from the squad. However, he insists those setbacks will not serve as an excuse for his team not to compete.

“I always believe that whenever players get injured or for some reason they can’t turn up, Jamaica is a big enough country,” said Speid “We give a lot of other players opportunities, we’re still in a rebuilding phase, so it’s good for some of the youngsters to get a run out and new players to get a call-up. So we don’t really think about it a lot, we just move on with business.”

One player who has benefited from the injury list is striker Ricky Jade-Jones who earned his first call-up to the national team.

The 24 year old, who currently plays for FC St Pauli in Germany’s second division, says he’s hoping to make a good impression.

“Obviously I’m really excited and I couldn’t wait to just get started. The training’s been good, I feel good in myself. The team feels good, we’ve got a good bond. We’ve only been here for a couple of days and I feel really part of it already, so I’m looking forward to the game,” he said.

Jamaica Reggae Boyz goalkeeper coach Andrew Sewell (left) gives instructions as Joshua Grant looks on during training at Stadium East field on Friday.

New Mexico boss Rafael Marquez, who took over from Javier Aguirre following the World Cup, has yet to get off the mark, going winless in his first four games.

Speid is an admirer of the former star defender but has no intentions of taking him lightly.

“I’m just as hungry as he is to win a game. Every game is new, we have to start all over. He was a wonderful player when he used to play for Barcelona, he definitely has some characteristics that we studied very well, so I’m hoping to beat him,” he said.

“I’ve seen them play a lot, pull off extraordinary victories, especially in the World Cup just recently. We know they’re ranked number 10, we know what they bring. They easily are the best team over the years in Concacaf but the teams from the Caribbean have improved a bit and we expect for that to come on show in the tie,” Speid added.

Jamaica, who conceded four goals in four games during the Nations League group stage, will have to be wary with the introduction of the away goal rule.

Both teams will be looking for the advantage ahead of Tuesday’s return leg at the Estadio BBVA.