Final chase - Regional juniors kick off hunt for World Cup berth in Montego Bay
Published: Monday | February 14, 2011 0 Comments
Members of the Jamaica Under-17 squad, led by captain Omar Holness (left), conduct a warm-up routine during preparations for the 12-team CONCACAF tournament finals, which kick off in Montego Bay today. Jamaica will bow into action tomorrow with a clash against Caribbean arch-rivals Trinidad and Tobago. - Contributed


Members of the Jamaica Under-17 squad, led by captain Omar Holness (left), conduct a warm-up routine during preparations for the 12-team CONCACAF tournament finals, which kick off in Montego Bay today. Jamaica will bow into action tomorrow with a clash against Caribbean arch-rivals Trinidad and Tobago. - Contributed

Adrian Frater, News Editor
Western Bureau:

The much-anticipated CONCACAF Under-17 Championship, which will produce four qualifiers for this summer's FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Mexico, will kick-off this afternoon at 12:30 with what promises to be a sizzling double-header at the new Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay.

In the opening game of the 12-team tournament, which is divided in four groups of three teams each, Haiti will oppose Costa Rica in a Group A match-up, while in the big feature game at three o'clock, favourites the United States will take on Spanish-speaking neighbours Cuba in a Group B clash.

The top four teams from the tournament will advance to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico from June 18-July 10, 2011.

The competing teams are Costa Rica, Haiti, Cuba, United States (US), Barbados, Honduras, Trinidad & Tobago (T&T), El Salvador, Panama, Canada, Guatemala, and Jamaica.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals, with Groups A & B winners playing the runners-up of the opposing group on February 22, while Groups C & D will follow the next day. The semi-finals will be played on February 25, with the third place and finals two days later.

Groupings

Jamaica will see action in Group C along with Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala. Group A consists of Costa Rica, El Salvador and Haiti; Group B has the US, Panama and Cuba; and Group D brings together Honduras, Canada and Barbados.

The Jamaicans will bow into action tomorrow against T&T in a Zone C affair.

Haiti and Costa Rica, which have both been acclimatising in Jamaica for well over a week, are both fresh from encouraging practice match results against host nation, Jamaica.

Costa Rica, whose extensive build-up for the tournament included victories against T&T (3-0), Nicaragua (8-0) and El Salvador (2-1), must be on a high, especially after their 1-0 win against hosts Jamaica in their friendly game in Clarendon last week Thursday.

Coming into the tournament, Costa Rica's coach Luis Diego Arnaez, whose team has qualified for the last five Under-17 World Cups, made it absolutely clear that his team will settle for nothing less than a qualifying place in Mexico.

"We are expecting a competitive tournament, but we are confident of qualifying for the World Cup," Arnaez said on his arrrival in Jamaica.

"Nonetheless, while I expect teams like Canada and the US to stand out, we are expecting all the teams to play well," he added.

Haiti ready

The Haitians, whose limited pre-paration included good results against St Vincent and the Grenadines (6-0) and Guyana (7-0), turned in a gritty performance in a 3-2 loss in a friendly game against Jamaica last week that should have left coach Wilner Elienn and his staff encouraged, if not satisfied.

In their bid to take an early grip on Group A, the Costa Ricans, popularly known as the 'Ticos', will be banking on the goalscoring prowess of strikers Jonathan Moya and Joel Campbell and gifted midfielder Juan Golobio, alongside top defenders Alejandro Calderon and Federico Crespo.

Haiti should be hoping that Johnley Cherly, who scored a fabulous overhead kick in the friendly game against Jamaica, and Georges Kerlin, who also breached the Jamaica defence to score, will find success at the Catherine Hall Stadium.

A battle royal is anticipated in the second game between the US and Cuba, whose rivalry stretches beyond the border of sports. While the US, whose preparation has been quite meticulous, should start favourites, the Cubans are expected to draw additional energy from national pride.

However, US coach Wilmer Cabrera is not anticipating any hiccups as, according to him, his team is well prepared and fully understands what is expected in the tournament.

"We have selected 20 players who we feel are best suited to handle this tournament," said Cabrera. "They know what they need to do and we hope they will go out and prove themselves."

Following his team's last practice game against top CONCACAF team Mexico, which they lost 1-0, Cuba's coach Israel Blake said with a few minor adjustments, his team will be ready to give a good account of themselves against all and sundry.

For this important assignment, the US should be banking on players such as Esteban Rodriguez, Marc Pelosi, Alfred Koroma, and Jack McBean, who all looked good in the two-game friendly series the Americans played against Jamaica - winning one and drawing the other.

Cuba's bid to beat the Americans will revolve around the likes of Lazaro Fonseca, Sajay Herrera, Javiar Aguilara, and Kain Froese Gonzales.

Today's matches

12:30 p.m. Costa Rica vs Haiti

3 p.m. United States vs Cuba





Edited by jamatl (02/14/11 09:14 AM)