Jamaica Reggae Boyz goalkeeper Andre Blake admits to enjoying the encounter against top team Argentina and football great Lionel Messi, despite coming away on the other side of a 3-0 defeat.

After starting the game on the bench, Messi's introduction blew things wide open for La Albiceleste who had already taken a 1-0 lead in the first half courtesy of Julian Alvarez’s 13th-minute strike.

With only 10-minutes to go the Jamaicans seemed set to end their third straight encounter against the South Americans within a one-goal margin, but Messi had other ideas.

Blake initially foiled Messi twice but could not do much against the Paris Saint Germain midfielder’s blast from the top of the area in the 86^th minute or his crafty free-kick three minutes later.

It’s a world-class team that’s the easiest way to put it.  It’s a different ballgame. The quality of play and the speed of play, everything is a different level. But I enjoyed every moment of it, and it was a great experience,” Blake told the Philadelphia Enquirer.

“He’s the best in the world,” Blake said in his assessment of Messi.

“I wish I was able to make those saves, but world-class players do world-class things. … it was definitely an honour and a moment I’ll cherish forever — not the moment that he scored, but being able to play against him and save a few of his shots.”

Dinthill Technical hammered Ewarton 10-0 at home to maintain their perfect run in the ISSA/Digicel daCosta Cup on Wednesday.

Dinthill now have six wins from six games and lead Zone K with 18 points, three more than Charlemont who secured their own home win, 3-1 over Enid Bennett. McGrath are third on 12 points thanks to a 5-1 win over Guys Hill at Tacky High.

Paul Bogle High joined Dinthill in the unbeaten club thanks to a massive 12-0 hammering of Robert Lightbourne at home. They also have a perfect 18 points from six outings in Zone L. Yallahs are a distant second on 10 points after a 1-1 home draw with Seaforth while St. Thomas Tech and Morant Bay played out a 2-2 draw at the Eastern Banana Complex.

STETHS have played one less match than Dinthill and Paul Bogle but also have a 100% record in Zone E after a 2-0 win over Lacovia at Lacovia. Munro College are second on 10 points but lost ground on the leaders after suffering an 0-1 defeat at the hands of B.B Coke. Sydney Pagon lost 1-2 to Maggotty at home in Zone E’s other clash.

Manning’s got their fifth win in as many games, a 3-1 home win over Grange Hill, to remain at the top of Zone D. Petersfield, second with 10 points, played out a 0-0 draw with Belmont Academy while, on Tuesday, Godfrey Stewart beat Black River 1-0 at home.

Manchester leads Zone F with 10 points from four games after a 2-2 draw with DeCarteret College at DeCarteret. Bellefield made up ground and now only trail Manchester by three points after a 3-0 win over May Day at home while Belair are third with six points after a 3-0 win over Mt. St. Joseph at home.

Zone B saw Merlene Ottey suffer a 1-3 home loss to Green Island. On Tuesday, Frome secured a 3-0 over previously unbeaten Rusea’s to take over top spot with nine points from three games and a goal difference 19, six more than Rusea’s who also have nine points.

Browns Town beat Ocho Rios 2-0 in the lone Zone I fixture on Wednesday.

Tacky High took over top spot in Zone J with a 3-1 win over St. Mary High at the Highgate Community Centre to move to 11 points from five games, three more than Horace Clarke who have played one game less. Annotto Bay and St. Mary Tech played out a 2-2 draw at Westmoreland Oval in the other Zone J game.

In other Tuesday results, Irwin beat Cornwall College 2-1 to move to four wins from four games to lead Zone A ahead of Green Pond, who now have seven points from four matches after a 1-1 draw over St. James. Maldon beat Anchovy 4-1 in the other Zone A game. Cornwall currently sit third with six points from their four encounters.

William Knibb maintained their perfect record in Zone C with a comprehensive 10-0 over Herbert Morrison to move to nine points from three games. Joining them with nine points from three games was Cedric Titus who beat Spot Valley 2-1.

Mona High maintained their perfect start to the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup with a 3-1 victory over Wolmer’s Boys at Stadium East on Wednesday.

Mona, after beating the previously undefeated Wolmer’s, now have 15 points from five games and boast an impressive goal difference of 28 having scored 33 goals and conceded just five.

Earlier at Stadium East on Wednesday, Camperdown and Hydel played out a 1-1 draw. Hydel and Camperdown now sit third and fourth in Group E with seven and five points, respectively.

The other Group E fixture saw Kingston High beat Papine 2-1 at home for their first win in five tries.

Jamaica College moved to the top of Group B on goal difference with a 4-0 win over St. Jago at Jamaica College. The 30-time champions now have 10 points, the same amount as St. Catherine High who got a 6-0 win at Cedar Grove. JC has a goal difference of 19 while St. Catherine has a goal difference of 10.

Holy Trinity beat St. Mary’s College 5-1 at Bell Chung Oval in the other Group B encounter.

STATHS are now in a dominant position in Group D after a 6-0 win over Tarrant moved them up to 13 points from five games, six more than second placed Jonathan Grant, who secured a 2-1 win over Norman Manley at Maxfield Park. Dunoon got a 2-1 win over Spanish Town at Excelsior in the other Group D fixture.

Four newcomers - Bradley Ho, Kieran Rush, AJ Wallace, and Alex Young - are included in Jamaica’s 24-man squad, as the Reggae Warriors prepare to make their debut in the Rugby League World Cup.

Fourteen of those selected were part of the squad that qualified for the tournament when winning the 2018 Americas Championship, Jamaica thereby becoming the first-ever Caribbean nation to be included in the competition proper.

The squad is headlined by Betfred Super League stars Michael Lawrence and Ashton Golding from Huddersfield Giants.

Six players from the domestic game are included, five are from Duhaney Park Red Sharks that recently won the National Club Championship Grand Final for the eighth time in 16 seasons, along with former Excelsior Community College speedster Abevia McDonald, who now plays at London Skolars.

Also selected are brothers Aaron and Ben Jones-Bishop, the former becoming Cornwall RLFC’s first international representative.

“We are excited to mix it with the best players in the world and everyone is ready to give their all. We encourage everyone to get behind this team and join us on what should be a terrific as well as historic journey,” said head coach Romeo Monteith.

“We first made our international debut in 2009, and to have qualified for a World Cup less than 10 years later, speaks to our commitment and tenacity.

“We are in a very tough group, but our aim is to give a good account of ourselves. The World Cup is the pinnacle of the game, and we hope this will be the first of many appearances.”

The Reggae Warriors are drawn in Group C and will face Ireland at Headingley, Leeds (October 16), 2008 World Cup winner New Zealand at the MKM Stadium, Hull (October 22) and Lebanon at Leigh Sports Village (October 30).

Two teams from each group will not only advance to the quarter-finals but will also book their ticket to the 2025 Rugby League World Cup to be staged in France.

The local contingent will depart the island on Saturday 1 October, and, in a warm-up match, the Jamaicans will face Cumbria on October 7 in Workington.

JAMAICA 24-MAN SQUAD

Greg Johnson (Batley Bulldogs), AJ Wallace (Bradford Bulls), Aaron Jones-Bishop (Cornwall RLFC), Ross Peltier, Keenen Tomlinson (Dewsbury Rams), Chevaughn Bailey, Khamisi Mckain, Andrew Simpson, Marvin Thompson, Renaldo Wade (Duhaney Park Red Sharks), James Woodburn-Hall (Halifax Panthers) Ashton Golding, Michael Lawrence, Kieran Rush (Huddersfield Giants), Bradley Ho, Mo Agoro, (Keighley Cougars),  Abevia McDonald (London Skolars) Joel Farrell, Ben Jones-Bishop (Sheffield Eagles), Joe Brown, Alex Young (Workington Town), Jacob Ogden (York City Knights), Jordan Andrade, Jy-Mel Coleman (Unattached).

Lionel Messi should be appreciated by fans of all countries at the World Cup as he will be missed like Roger Federer "and more" when he retires, says Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni.

Messi scored twice from the bench in Argentina's 3-0 win over Jamaica on Tuesday, their penultimate friendly before Qatar 2022.

The Albiceleste head to the finals as one of the favourites, having won the Copa America last year.

That was Messi's long-awaited first major international honour, and this could be the 35-year-old's last chance to win a World Cup, having lost in the 2014 final.

Although the Paris Saint-Germain superstar remains on top of his game, scoring six goals across his past four matches for club and country, Scaloni knows he cannot go on forever.

And the Argentina boss expects Messi's eventual retirement will be received with the same outpouring that met tennis legend Federer's decision to quit the sport last week.

"[Messi] is like Federer," Scaloni said after the Jamaica game.

"He retired and what happened when he retired? Everybody [was] excited, everybody is thinking, 'he won't be here anymore, he's not going to play anymore'.

"How many of us would like to see Federer play tennis? Because it was wonderful to watch him play. The same will happen with [Messi] and more, because football is a sport that moves much more.

"So, let's enjoy him. Everyone enjoys him regardless of the country, it's wonderful to see him.

"I have the possibility of training him, but I would be a fan, I would pay a ticket to see him and I would buy his shirt, regardless of the country.

"So, the only thing left is to enjoy him, because I don't know if something like this will ever be repeated. So, you have to enjoy him and nothing else."

Newly appointed Jamaica Reggae Boyz head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson believes a 3-0 scoreline might have flattered Argentina, insisting his team was made to pay for a loss in concentration in the defeat at the Red Bull stadium on Tuesday.

Argentinean superstar Lionel Messi came off the bench to score twice as the Albiceleste, who, in truth, looked comfortable despite holding a slim 1-0 lead, blew the game wide open in the last 10 minutes.

By the time the world-famous number 10 entered the fray, in the 56^th minute, Argentina were already 1-0 up courtesy of Julian Alvarez’s tidy finish in the 13^th minute. from there they had struggled to find real goalscoring momentum, that is until Messi entered the pitch.

After stinging the palms of Jamaica goalkeeper Andre Blake with an early attempt, the forward made no mistake blasting his shot well to the left of the keeper, when he got another opportunity, to double the lead in the 86^th minute.  However, sloppy play in midfield led to the dangerous player taking possession at the edge of the area.

Three minutes later, there was real anxiety when the wily forward was brought down just at the top of the 18-yard box.  Those concerns were proven valid when Messi picked himself up and scored the resulting free-kick.  Again the Jamaicans might well feel dissatisfied with their defensive play, as Messi found space through a somewhat disheveled wall to beat Blake again.  The match was the first for Hallgrimsson and he believes despite the errors they were a few positives.

“We lost 3-0 and you are never happy to lose.  Three, zero is a big number but I don’t think it reflects the game on a whole,” Hallgrimsson said.

“It does not reflect the performance of our players, I think we showed an excellent team performance for 80 minutes and we lost a little focus in possession that led to the first and the second goal and then from that lost more focus for the third goal and that cannot happen,” he added.

“Those were the negatives from the match.  We kept them from creating goal-scoring chances, more or less, until the 80^th minute.  After 10 minutes we were finding our feet but after that, we were comfortable with how we played our defensive game.”

Argentina were never in any danger during their 3-0 friendly win against Jamaica on Tuesday, played at a neutral site in the United States' Red Bull Arena.

Alvarez opened the scoring in the 13th minute thanks to some terrific work from Lautaro Martinez, who was able to snake his way into the box, beating multiple defenders to get to the touchline and drag one back along the edge of the six-yard box for a simple tap-in.

Argentina continued to create half-chances throughout the remainder of the first half, and it was more of the same to begin the second 45, with Martinez going close after a slick one-touch pass from Alexis Mac Allister gave him some space inside the box, but he pushed his shot wide of the far-post.

Lionel Messi was subbed on in the 56th minute, and just 10 minutes later he had his first chance after a one-two on the edge of the area allowed him to break into the left-hand side of the box, but his shot from a sharp angle was easily thwarted at the near post.

But fans in attendance would get what they came for in the 87th minute, when Messi picked up a deflected pass just outside the penalty area and fired his left-foot shot hard and low across his body into the bottom-right corner.

Just two minutes later Argentina were awarded a free kick in the same spot, and Messi again converted, this time around the wall into the bottom-left corner.

What does it mean? Argentina now two games away from history

With this result, Argentina are now unbeaten in their past 35 games dating back to their loss in the 2019 Copa America semi-final against Brazil. 

Italy holds the record at 37 games without a loss – which they set just last year. Argentina's next two games will be in the World Cup against Saudi Arabia and Mexico, and if they make it through unscathed, they will play Poland for the new record.

Messi the super sub

Despite only playing 35 minutes, Messi led all players with five shots, four shots on target and three successful dribbles. Only Alvarez (three) created more chances than Messi's two, and he scored two goals for his second consecutive international fixture after also netting a double against Honduras this past weekend.

Reid struggles with Argentinian physicality

Bobby Reid had a difficult outing down the left-hand side, being credited with only two duels won from 11 tries – the lowest percentage on the pitch. He also had a passing accuracy of 77 per cent, which was one of the lowest marks from either side, while attempting no shots and creating no chances.

What's next? 

Argentina will take their unbeaten streak into the World Cup, where they will play Saudi Arabia first up. Jamaica do not have any fixtures scheduled until March's CONCACAF Nations League.

 Jamaica Reggae Boy forward Leon Bailey is convinced the unit can produce plenty of quality once they get things right, but admittedly expects a tough outing against Argentina.

The Jamaicans will clash with Argentina, at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, for only the fourth time in the team’s history and the debut outing for new head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, who officially took over the post last week.

The Reggae Boyz have lost all three previous encounters but performed creditably in the team’s last meeting at the 2015 Copa America Centenario, where they narrowly lost 1-0 to the Lionel Messi-led outfit.  Bailey is looking forward to his first taste of the high-profile fixture.

“There are a lot of quality players in the team, we just need to put together, obviously it’s a system that the coach will be improvising but we should be able to do good things and hopefully come away with a result,” Bailey said.

“It’s going to be a good game, the first game for the manager as well, but it should be exciting for everybody playing against a good opponent and I think we just have to be focused and work hard for the whole game.”

Reggae Boyz starting line-up

Andre Blake

Leon Bailey

Daniel Johnson

Ravel Morrison

Shamar Nicholson

Bobby Reid

Damion Lowe

Michael Antonio

Adrian Mariappa

Javain Brown

Amari'i Bell

Jamaican Olympic and World Champion Veronica Campbell Brown is now a mother of two after giving birth to her son, Zane Lucas Brown, on September 20.

Campbell Brown, who also has a daughter with husband and fellow former sprinter Omar Brown, made the announcement on her Instagram page on Tuesday.

Campbell Brown, 40, won back-to-back Olympic 200m gold medals in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008 as well as a 100m gold medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. She also won 200m World Championship gold in 2011 in Daegu.

Newly appointed Jamaica Reggae Boyz head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson is hoping to conduct a valuable assessment during the team’s upcoming friendly international against Argentina.

The Reggae Boyz and the Albiceleste, led by football superstar Lionel Messi, will lock horns at the Red Bulls Stadium in New York, on Tuesday, for the fourth time in history.  Hallgrímsson, who officially took charge of the team last week, admits the former world champions are a difficult prospect to face on his debut but hopes to gleam some valuable insights.

“It going to be a good contest and at least we’ll know where we stand and what we need to improve," Hallgrímsson said.

“For me, it’s a time to learn, a time to observe, time to evaluate.  Then after this camp, we can see what we need to change if we need to change anything.  Find out what is working and what is not working.”

In three matches Jamaica has not managed to secure a result against Argentina losing all three matches that the teams have played.

Waterhouse defender Ricardo Thomas has been drafted in to replace injured Ipswich Town defender Greg Leigh ahead of Jamaica’s friendly international against Argentina.

Leigh was expected to join up with the rest of the team in the United States on Friday but suffered an injury in the team’s 2-2 draw against Sheffield Wednesday earlier this week.  Initially, the defender was thought to have just suffered a bruise to the area but subsequent scans revealed a compression fracture.

The injury is now expected to keep the player out of action for an extended spell.

“He, unfortunately, picked something up at the back end of the Sheffield Wednesday game, which was initially thought to be bone bruising,” the team’s manager Kieran McKenna said.

“At that point, it was touch-and-go whether he was going to go away for international duty.

 “He’s had some scans this week, just to make sure, and unfortunately he has a compression fracture of his leg and will be out for a longer period of time. That’s a disappointing one for Greg and for us as well," he added.

The 29-year-old has made 8 appearances for the Jamaica national team and last played against Honduras in March.  Thomas has played 10 matches for the national team and was last on the bench in the team’s Nation’s League match against Mexico in June.

Titans Track Club coach and former Olympian Michael Frater is confident his new charge Briana Williams will be able to make the transition from star junior to successful senior, despite admitting that it has been difficult for former junior stars in the past.

The 20-year-old Williams recently announced the decision to part ways with long-time coach Ato Boldon and join Frater and Gregory Little at Titans.  As a junior, Williams was a world champion in both the 100m and 200m.  Since turning pro in 2020, however, the athlete has failed to engineer anything close to similar success at the senior level.

Williams has made both the Olympics and World Championship teams, going on to win 4x100m relay gold, but has only managed to secure a spot in the relay pool to date and missed out on individual appearances.  At the Jamaica national trials, earlier this year, her time of 10.94, a new personal best, was only good enough for fourth spot.

In track and field, it isn’t uncommon for junior stars to fail to make the grade at the senior level but Frater believes Williams has the mindset to join the likes of Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown as world juniors champions who went on to excel at the senior level.

“It’s hard for a lot of these athletes that do great things at young ages, a lot of them never surpass what they do,” Frater told the SportsMax Zone.

“That's why most people will tell you that they prefer athletes who weren’t teeing off at a young age,” he added.

“I think with Briana’s attitude and dedication, though, it won’t be a problem for her transitioning to the next level, and as coach Ato said he may not have been able to spend enough time with her.  For an athlete to be a world-class athlete she has to get the full attention that she needs.”

Jamaica defender Curtis Tilt admits to being excited by the prospect of facing legendary Argentinian Lionel Messi and the rest of a start-studded South American squad, ahead of the team’s clash in New York next week.

The 31-year-old was a late addition to the team that will face the Argentineans on Tuesday.  The defender has not represented the team since June of last year against Serbia but will hope to make his case under new Jamaica coach Heimir Hallgrímsson.  Tilt, who plays for English Championship team Wigan Athletic, is enjoying a whirlwind year having secured promotion from League One with the team at the start of the season.

Now he is excited at the prospect of not just returning to the country’s line-up, but also facing one of the best players in history and added to that a first-time trip to the Big Apple.

  "I'm buzzing to be fair, not only to be selected for my country but playing against the best player in the world really," Tilt told Wigan Today.

"I was called up late, so I've not had much to process it yet. I'm sure I'll get more anxious nearer the time, wondering what it's like to play against the very best,” he added.

"But New York as well...I've never actually been, I was thinking of going out during the winter break.

"It's come a little bit early, so hopefully we'll get a chance to have a look round at some of the sights."

Olympic sprint relay gold medallist Briana Williams is about to launch a new chapter of her track and field career under the guidance of new coaches to begin the 2022/2023 track season.

Club cricket in Jamaica had been dormant for two years due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From May 7-June 9 this year, the Jamaica Cricket Association staged the All-Island Limited Overs competition, ending a long wait for the return of club cricket in the country.

That two-year hiatus affected many of the prominent cricket clubs around the island, including The Melbourne Cricket Club.

Since its inception in 1892, the club has been synonymous with winning and has produced many cricketers who have gone on to represent the region at the highest level including Courtney Walsh, Michael Holding, Marlon Samuels, Robert Samuels, Carlton Baugh Jr, Donovan Pagon and Nikita Miller to name a few.

“For starters, Melbourne is a cricket club and we attract patrons mostly through cricket; be it players, spectators and/or fans. Closing our doors for two years resulted in a loss of the vibrancy of the club as well as the recruitment of young players,” said James Stewart, team manager at Melbourne.

“Currently, the players who represent the club are those who have been around for some time,” he added.

The Derrymore Road-based club also won the last edition of the Limited Overs tournament in 2019 but failed to pass the preliminary round this year.

“Our team failing to progress to the next round was down to several factors. Firstly, we did not execute our plans in the first three games. As a result, we had to play ‘catch up.’ Secondly, several players in our ranks had overseas assignments and that left the team weakened,” Stewart said.

The Jamaica Defence Force came away winners of that title after a tense two-wicket victory over St. Mary at Sabina Park.

Melbourne will be aiming to rebound from that disappointment with success in the ongoing JCA T20 Bashment which began on September 4 and will end on October 9.

The team has so far gone unbeaten in their first five matches of the preliminary round, recording three wins and two no results and with their final two group games coming this weekend, the club stands a good chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.

“Based on our team structure, we have a good chance of winning this ongoing T20 Bashment. Currently, we have not lost a game and we have only dropped points because of the weather. Most of pour players are in good batting form and the bowling is improving weekly,” said Stewart who is also coaching the team in the tournament due to the absence of regular head coach Nikita Miller who is on assignment with the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League.

“Additionally, we have had some bolstering to our ranks in terms of our bowling. These additions will go a far way in terms of how effectively and efficiently we execute our plans throughout this tournament,” he added.