CONCACAF Gold Cup Reignites Jamaica, US Rivalry

St. Maarten, Puerto Rico and Curacao will vie for three places to complete the main draw. This will be determined by a June 16-20 preliminary round at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

BY HOWARD CAMPBELL

The CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament is approaching, and Caribbean fans are optimistic that a team from the region will finally go all the way. Haiti and Jamaica have qualified for the main draw which starts June 24 with defending champions United States playing Jamaica at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Jamaica and the United States will reignite their rivalry in the opening fixture of the CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage, in a repeat of the quarterfinal clash in the 2021 tournament.

The Reggae Boyz will face the reigning champions and hosts at Soldier Field in Chicago on June 24th, the only game scheduled for the opening day of the tournament which will run from June 16th to July 16th. In their previous meeting, the United States edged Jamaica 1-0 en route to their seventh title. The Reggae Boyz will then take on Nicaragua before clashing with a yet-tobe-determined qualifier from the preliminary tournament.

Trinidad and Tobago, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, Grenada, French Guiana, St. Lucia, Suriname, St. Kitts/Nevis,

Carl Brown coached Jamaica at three Gold Cups, the last being in 1998 when the Reggae Boyz made history by qualifying for the World Cup in France. Their best effort came in 2017 when they were runners-up to the US, losing 1-2 in the final at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Based on sentiment, Brown hopes a Caribbean team will break the ice but admits that is a tough task.

“In the past, we were just competing against teams like the US and Mexico but Canada is emerging as a powerhouse. When it comes to resources, we are way behind those countries, even the teams from Latin America,” he said.

Mexico and the US have dominated the Gold Cup which was first held in 1991. The South Americans have won eight times, while the Americans notched their seventh lien two years ago; Canada won in 2000, beating Colombia 2-0 in the final.

Jamaica have made the final twice. Their first appearance, in 2015, saw them losing 1-3 to Mexico.

While teams such as Jamaica have players who are professionals in Major League Soccer, as well as in the United Kingdom and Europe, Brown believes that is not enough.

“They have to have