World Cup Qualifiers - Concacaf

World Cup Qualifiers - Concacaf (113)

Jamaica head coach, Theodore Whitmore, is expected to be replaced as head coach of the country’s national team with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) technical committee on Wednesday, expected to meet and make the recommendation.

Whitmore, a former national player, who was a part of the country’s historic 1998 World Cup team, was in his third stint in charge of the Jamaica squad.  The Reggae Boyz have, however, struggled in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers despite being one of the pre-tournament favourites to do well.

After eight games the team is in 6th spot, seven places off the automatic qualification and play-off spots.  During the difficult run, which included a 3-0 home loss to Panama, the coach’s line-up choices and tactics have come into question.

Whitmore, however, has one of the best win percentages as a Jamaica coach and is only one of two to take the team to the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.  According to yet to be confirmed reports, Whitmore is expected to be replaced by former England player Ricky Hill, a coach formerly at American USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies.  Whitmore’s assistant Paul Hall will reportedly stay on as a part of the coaching unit.  The Jamaican team will resume its World Cup qualification with a home fixture against Mexico in January.

 

West Ham owner David Sullivan has forked out an eye-watering £100,000 ($21,013,467) to get striker Michail Antonio back to England with enough time to rest for Saturday’s English Premier League (EPL) encounter against Wolverhampton.

The striker had a private jet waiting for him at the airport soon after Jamaica played to a 1-1 draw against the United States, in the recently concluded round of World Cup qualifiers, where the in-form striker scored a thunderbolt.  In fact, Antonio scored both goals for Jamaica during the round after also getting the goal also El Salvador in another 1-1 draw for the Caribbean team.

Despite the 31-year-old's impact, Jamaica remains off the pace needed for qualification to next year’s World Cup as they are currently 6th in the standings, with six matches remaining. Antonio began appearing for the Caribbean team after switching nationality from England this year, both his parents were born in the Caribbean country,

The form of striker, who has scored six Premier League goals so far, has been crucial to a strong start to the season for West Ham, who are currently third in the EPL standings.  The forward has also scored one goal for the team in a Europa League campaign that sees them comfortably at the top of Group H.

 

Canada took a giant stride towards qualifying for their first World Cup since 1986 after Cyle Larin's brace led them to a 2-1 win over rivals Mexico in frosty conditions in Edmonton on Tuesday.

Larin struck either side of half-time, the victory seeing Canada leapfrog the United States and Mexico into top spot in CONCACAF 2022 World Cup qualifying with 16 points from eight games.

The result condemned Mexico to back-to-back qualifying defeats, after Friday's 2-0 loss to USA, leaving El Tri third on 14 points.

USA are second on 15 points following their 1-1 draw in Jamaica earlier on Tuesday.

Canada went ahead on the stroke of half-time when Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa failed to hold Alistair Johnston's long-range effort, with Besiktas forward Larin swooping on the rebound.

Larin doubled Canada's lead in the 52nd minute, cushioning a right-foot volley from Stephen Eustaquio's free-kick.

Mexico pulled a goal back in the 90th minute via Hector Herrera's header, ensuring a frantic finish before Jorge Sanchez squandered a golden opportunity from point-blank range as Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan saved his chested effort.

The United States missed the chance to reinforce their lead at the top of the CONCACAF 2022 World Cup qualifying standings after a 1-1 draw away to Jamaica on Tuesday.

West Ham's Michail Antonio equalised in stunning fashion for Jamaica midway through the first half after Timothy Weah's 11th-minute opener in Kingston.

USA remain top with 15 points from eight games, moving one point clear of Mexico, who play rivals Canada away later on Tuesday, as Jamaica climbed to fifth with seven points.

Lille forward Weah had surged into the left of the box, before firing home the opening goal in off the post from a tight angle.

Antonio netted his second goal in three games 11 minutes later, working his way into space before bending home an unbelievable effort into the top-right corner from 30 yards.

Jamaica's Fulham attacker Bobby Decordova-Reid had the best chance of the second half but inexplicably skied over the bar from close range, while Damion Lowe had a late headed goal disallowed for a push.

 An Alex Roldan goal in the 90th minute canceled out a Michail Antonio goal in the 82nd minute as El Salvador and Jamaica both netted a point
after battling to a 1-1 draw on Friday at the Estadio Cuscatlan in San Salvador.
The first half ended scoreless despite a sequence in the 39th minute off a corner kick in which El Salvador attempted two long-range shots, both of which hit the crossbar above
Jamaica GK Andre Blake.

Jamaica thought it may have had the winner with Antonio scoring his first-ever Jamaica goal late in the second half for a 1-0 lead. The attacker took the ball on the left-hand side of attack and charged forward, beating a pair of Salvadoran defenders and then GK Mario Gonzalez with a clever chip over the onrushing shot-stopper.

 Yet El Salvador still had something to say about the outcome of the match and found the 1-1 equalizer.
Roldan, wearing the captain’s armband, got into the box in the 90th minute and headed in a cross from the right-hand side, with the ball tucking under the crossbar and going in.

Next on the slate for El Salvador is a visit to Panama City to meet fellow Central
American rival Panama, while Jamaica heads back to Kingston where it welcomes the United States.

 

Argentina are on the cusp of World Cup qualification after extending their unbeaten streak to 26 games by edging Uruguay 1-0.

Angel Di Maria was the difference away to rivals Uruguay, his sublime seventh-minute strike lifting second-placed Argentina to victory on Friday.

Argentina – who tied their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying record after going eight matches unbeaten on the road – are one win away from booking their spot at Qatar 2022 heading into Tuesday's showdown against Brazil.

Lionel Scaloni's Argentina defeated Uruguay 3-0 during last month's international window, after La Celeste failed to make the most of their chances against the Copa America champions.

It was a similar story on home soil in Montevideo, where Uruguay lacked a cutting edge in front of goal, despite Luis Suarez's best efforts.

With Lionel Messi on the bench, Di Maria wore the captain's armband and Argentina's stand-in skipper broke the deadlock in the seventh minute.

Giovani Lo Celso won possession and laid the ball to Di Maria, who curled a stunning shot into the top corner of the net.

Uruguay continued to press numbers forward and they had a chance to restore parity approaching half-time after Matias Vecino's brilliant turn created space for a shot, however it was easily dealt with by Emiliano Martinez.

Martinez was left scrambling as Facundo Torres' tricky cross almost looped over the Argentina goalkeeper before he palmed it behind for a corner in the 63rd minute.

As Uruguay pushed forward in search of an equaliser, it created more space for Argentina to attack and the visitors engineered a couple of decent openings before Messi was introduced off the bench during the closing stages.

With the minutes ticking down, Agustin Alvarez headed just over the bar for Uruguay, while Martinez almost saw the ball slip through his legs and into the net as the hosts' World Cup hopes remain in the balance.

Jamaica Reggae Boy Liam Moore is hopeful the team can continue its recent trend of keeping clean sheets ahead of World Cup qualification encounters against El Salvador and the United States.

The Jamaican team got off to a rocky start to the qualifiers after conceding eight goals in its first six games.  However, the team’s fortunes have improved in the last two rounds after battling to a 0-0 draw with the competition’s top scorers Canada and securing a 2-0 away win over Honduras.

Moore missed that round of matches, which took place in September after suffering an injury, but the defender did, however, watch the matches while sidelined and is eager to make his contribution for the team as it looks to pick up where it off.

“I watched the games back in the UK while I was injured and I thought there were a lot of positives with the clean sheets,” Moore told TVJ Sports.

“Talking about moving forward now, it’s about trying to continue to grow from that.  So, we need more clean sheets and try to get as many points on the board as we can,” he added.

The Reading player has made five appearances for the Jamaica national team to date.

Jamaica Reggae Boyz head coach Theodore Whitmore is impressed with the team’s camaraderie, after using an extra day to prepare for the team’s World Cup qualifier against El Salvador on Friday.

In recent months questions had been raised regarding the team’s sense of togetherness on the back of a rumoured rift between locally born and Uk-born members of the squad.  That narrative has, however, shifted on the back of two solid performances against Canada and Honduras in the previous round of matches.

Heading into Friday’s encounter Whitmore is eager to see that trend continue heading into the upcoming round of games.

“I’m very pleased with the enthusiasm of the players.  The camaraderie is good, the vibes in the camp is good and I’m pleased with what I’ve seen so far,” Whitmore said.

The team arrived in El Salvador on Monday, in order to be able to squeeze in an extra training session for the team.

“We are looking forward to the final session and the game.”

The Jamaicans who got their campaign slow start are looking to build momentum on the back of their first win of qualifiers, which came against Honduras in the previous round.  The team is currently 6th in the eight-team standings on 5 points, 3 outside of the qualifying spots.

When the Reggae Boyz face El Salvador at the Estadio Cuscatlan in San Salvador on Friday, Reggae Boyz defender Damion Lowe is hoping for an important victory for more than one reason.

Jamaica Reggae Boyz head coach Theodore Whitmore says the team is looking to continue riding its momentum into the upcoming round of World Cup qualifiers, particularly as it relates to defensive solidity.

The Caribbean team had a difficult start to its qualification campaign going winless in its first five games, before getting on the board against Honduras.  The run of games included a 3-0 home loss to Panama and a 2-0 away loss to the United States.  During the period the team conceded 8 goals.

Whitmore, however, made tweaks to the team’s formation for the last two matches against Canada and Honduras, which has led to two clean sheets.

“I think we want to build on the last two performances, from Canada to Honduras I think we can see much improvement because we have not conceded for the last two games, so we would like to build on that,” Whitmore said.

“We have a balanced squad here, for these two upcoming games so we are looking forward to it.  Again, we want to build on the strength of the last two performances.”

The Jamaicans will kick off the crucial round of matches with an encounter against El Salvador on Friday, followed by a home match against the United States on Sunday.  For the first time since the start of the campaign, the team will be allowed to have limited fans in the stadium.

 

 

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