Victory against US could help Jamaica's fortunes, says coach

Kingston (Jamaica), June 7 (IANS/CMC) Head coach Theodore Whitemore believes a Jamaica victory against the United States Friday night could help improve his country's chances of qualifying for next year's football World Cup in Brazil.

The 'Reggae Boyz' are in desperate need of points after slumping to their second straight defeat in World Cup Qualifying (WCQ) Tuesday at the national stadium, reports CMC.

Jamaica lost to Mexico 0-1 to stay rooted at the foot of the standings on two points from four games.

"We are just one win away. I would rather we have one win than two draws," said Whitmore.

"Come Friday night we have to show what we are really made of going into the US game. No team is easy, so we treat US the same. I think this group will go down to the last game."

Media reports from Kingston suggest that the Jamaica were not aggressive enough against their opponents from Mexico and coach Whitmore has lamented the failure of his players to take advantage of several scoring opportunities against Mexico.

"That's our cry, not scoring, but we have a team and I believe in the team and I will continue to work with the players we have for the US and Honduras game," Whitmore said.

Mexico, who started the match second from bottom, doubled their points tally to now lead the six-nation race with six points, one ahead of Honduras, while the United States, Costa Rica and Honduras are tied on four.

Whereas Mexico and Jamaica have played four matches, the other countries have played three in the 10-match deciding stage from which the top three automatically qualify for FIFA's showpiece event.

--IANS/CMC

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