HALLGRIMSSON...we really are doing everything to stay in this tournament.
As Jamaica’s senior Reggae Boyz eye their pivotal Copa America clash against Ecuador, Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has expressed a blend of cautious optimism and strategic focus, as they chase history in the Group B fixture at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, on Wednesday.
The 53rd-ranked Jamaicans are hunting their first goal, first point and, by extension, first victory in three appearances at the prestigious CONMEBOL tournament, a feat they will be hoping to achieve against the 30-ranked Ecuadorians to bounce back from a 0-1 defeat to Mexico in their opening fixture.
Kickoff is 5:00pm Jamaica time.
A victory would keep Hallgrimsson’s side in the hunt for one of the top two spots to the knockout stage. However, that is easier said than done, and despite their gallant effort against Mexico in Saturday’s defeat, Ecuador represents a different challenge, one which Hallgrimsson knows they can by no means scoff at even though their opponents also suffered a 1-2 loss to Venezuela in their opening encounter.
“It's going to be a tough match. Really a tough match,” Hallgrimsson stressed.
“They (Ecuador) came into this group for the media as favorites and have done brilliant in terms of their results prior to the tournament. A tough team to beat is a tough team to play against, and like I said, they have managed to get good results against the biggest teams in South America, and it's always low scoring matches. They conceded two goals, against Venezuela, but this was after they had been playing one man down for close to 50 minutes,” he noted.
“So the reason why Venezuela scored two goals was probably down to fatigue, and we need to be aware of that. We cannot go all in and concede a goal because it's difficult to get back against a team like Ecuador and Venezuela. So we need to be careful, but we need to be brave as well at the same time. It needs to be a calculated risk that we take,” the Icelandic coach added.
Though Jamaica and Ecuador have crossed swords in international friendlies on four occasions, this will be their first Copa America meeting. It should be noted that Jamaica has never defeated Ecuador, which means Wednesday’s contest takes on added significance for Hallgrimsson’s side to possibly achieve two significant milestones in one go.
But, again, that is easier said than done, as in their four meetings to date, Ecuador has won three, while the other ended in a stalemate. The last encounter between the two, in 2018, ended 2-0 in favour of the South Americans.
Across those four games, Jamaica has only scored three goals, while Ecuador tallied nine. With all the stats lining up against the Boyz, Hallgrimsson highlighted the importance of maintaining a balanced approach.
“We had a good game against Mexico the players performed well, but we just didn’t win. We are the underdogs in the group so we just want to show the same performance against Ecuador and see what it brings us. Hopefully it will bring us three points, but certainly we want to build on the performance against Mexico because we really are doing everything to stay in this tournament, I believe we have the squad to do that and so that is the focus,” Hallgrimsson declared.
Despite his familiarity with Ecuadorian counterpart Felix Sanchez, Hallgrimsson pointed out that it offers very little comfort.
“I know Felix so I know what kind of football they will play, and of course we have analysed them really well. They are really aggressive and physical and they have a strong midfield, but I think it’s the energy and commitment of this Ecuador team that is going to be the trickiest thing for us. Like I said they lost their first game as well which puts them under pressure so I know they are going to be more intense against us,” he opined.
Still, the tactician expressed delight that the Boyz are in high spirit with every player eager to give their best.
“Everybody's fit and ready, and that's a good sign. Normally, the first game causes some injuries after a long break for some players, but everybody's fresh. Everybody wants to play big games for Jamaica, so everybody's fighting for a spot in the team, and that's a good and healthy sign for us,” Hallgrimsson ended.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Alonso hails Leverkusen rearguard after stubborn Bayern display
Xabi Alonso was proud of his Bayer Leverkusen players after they produced a resolute defensive performance to earn a 1-1 Bundesliga draw at Bayern Munich.
After Robert Andrich gave Leverkusen the lead, Bayern's Aleksandar Pavlovic levelled with a stunning half-volley from 25 yards out which gave goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky no chance.
Bayern, who had won all four of their previous league games under Vincent Kompany, had 18 shots to Leverkusen's three and almost 70% of the possession.
That is the fewest shots Leverkusen have attempted in any of their 98 competitive matches under Alonso, while they also generated just 0.07 expected goals (xG) to Bayern's 1.32.
Despite their lack of attacking threat, Alonso was delighted with his side's defensive resilience, saying: "The energy and belief at Bayern is different to last season, they are going full throttle with and against the ball.
"That was very tough today. We can be happy with the point. I needed more energy from the team.
"I'm happy with that. We were ready to suffer and we did that. We need the discipline and passion of the players.
"It wasn't easy, we didn't have control of the ball. It was a challenge to defend. The point is important... The whole team did very well. We hardly had a chance to breathe but I'm very proud of my players."
Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka, who provided the assist for the opener, said their main strategy was to be compact and deny Bayern opportunities to score.
"We are self-critical. If you score three goals every game, that's not enough. If we play well today and switch gears, we can do something," Xhaka said.
"Defensively, we put in a good performance. The goal today was to be compact and concede little. You can certainly do more with the ball and everyone knows that we can do more. If someone had told us before the game that we would get a point, we would have taken it."
Leverkusen will next turn their attention to the Champions League, when they host AC Milan on Tuesday.
Motta defends Juventus talisman Vlahovic after Genoa brace
Juventus boss Thiago Motta lashed out at those criticising striker Dusan Vlahovic after he scored twice in the Bianconeri's 3-0 win over Genoa on Saturday.
Juve continued their fine start to life under Motta with a routine victory at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, Vlahovic netting twice before Francisco Conceicao added a late third.
They have kept a clean sheet in each of their first six matches of a Serie A season for the very first time, also scoring at least twice in five of their last eight games, having done so only once in their previous eight.
Despite Juve's strong run of form, Vlahovic has attracted criticism from some quarters.
Only Christian Pulisic (six) and Marcus Thuram (five) have bettered his four goals in Serie A this term, though, with the Serbian also helping himself to a brace versus Verona.
Motta heaped praise upon Vlahovic after the win, also hailing his defensive work as he said: "No goals conceded is a team effort.
"Scoring goals starts well with [goalkeeper Mattia] Perin and not conceding goals starts with Vlahovic.
"We have a group that wants to defend to have the ball and recover it. This is very important, a team must be solid to aspire to something great."
Motta then added: "Honestly, I think you pay too much attention to a single player. He has always been very good.
"I understand the expectations and needs of a striker at this level. But as I said from the beginning, he is a positive leader who helps a lot.
"I am happy because he scored but I was also happy when he didn't. He must improve and be more connected with the team because he is an important player in many aspects of our game. He is fine and must continue to work as he is doing".
Vlahovic, who has more games with multiple goals than any other player across the last six Serie A seasons (19), said: "The most important thing is that we won and we want to continue like this.
"It's no problem, people talk. If you score you're the best, if you don't you're the worst. It's up to me to respond on the pitch and I will certainly do so.
"Sometimes there are fewer opportunities. People expect me to solve the games and that's normal, I don't run away. I always do everything 100%.
"I'm super calm and I will always give my all on the pitch. For a striker when you don't score it's difficult, but today we won and that's the only thing that matters."
Kompany hopes Kane injury against Leverkusen is 'nothing serious'
Vincent Kompany is hopeful Harry Kane's knock is nothing serious, after the Bayern Munich striker limped off during the 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.
The England captain, who did not register a single shot during the game, was injured in a collision late on at the Allianz Arena, where Aleksandar Pavlovic cancelled out Robert Andrich's earlier effort.
The stalemate saw Bayern drop their first points of the Bundesliga season, while they turn their attention back to the Champions League with a trip to face Aston Villa in midweek.
Whether Kane features at Villa Park remains to be seen, but Kompany hopes his forward is fit for a return to England.
"I'm not a doctor, but I hope it's nothing serious," the Bayern boss told Sky Sports. "It's still early to say. Hopefully, he'll be fit for Wednesday."
Although Bayern's 100% start to the league campaign is no more, Kompany saw plenty of positives in his side's display.
"As a Bayern coach, you always want to win," he added. "But the performance was as we'd hoped. The counter-pressing was positive, we won the second balls, we created so many chances.
"Normally, in such a game, you don't create many chances, but we did. It was a top game, but there are still many games to go. We just have to keep going."
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