Despite facing an uphill task, Jamaica’s Head coach Hugh Bradford is optimistic that his young Reggae Girlz will produce an improved performance against reigning seven-time champions United States in their second Group A contest at the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship in Dominican Republic on Sunday.

The encounter to take place at the Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo, is scheduled for 5:00 pm Jamaica time, after the Canada versus Panama curtain-raiser at 2:00 pm.

After going down 0-4 to Canada in Friday’s opener, the young Reggae Girlz are now caught in a must-win situation in order to keep hopes of securing an historic FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup berth alive and Bradford is backing his charges to put their best foot forward on this occasion.

United States, who hammered Panama 6-0 in their opening contest, currently head the standings on three points, same as Canada, but with a better goal difference.

“Yes, it is a difficult task but we are going to try and play our game and not worry about what the opponents will do. I know we have a lot of potential in our team and so I expect the players to go out and give off their best,” Bradford said.

Reflecting on the team’s performance against Canada, the US-based coach pointed out that the players failed to execute as instructed and, as such, were outclassed in all departments and beaten by goals from Anabelle Chukwu (39th and 45th), Olivia Smith (56^th) and substitute Renee Watson (90+4).

“I thought we could have been better, but we weren’t entirely bad. We used a lot of energy on the defensive side, didn’t press the ball enough and so we were unable to get anything out of the game,” Bradford reasoned.

“But we have to just leave that game behind us and focus on the next game. We know our performance needed to be better as a team and like I said, I expect the ladies to show some improvements here. Everybody is fine, we had our team meeting and discussed what changes needs to take place as we look ahead,” he added.

Should the Girlz pull off an unlikely upset, it would put them in a good position to secure on of two spots from the group to the knockout stage, as they are set to close against Panama on May 30, while the United States and Canada will have each other to contend with.

Meanwhile, Costa Rica and Mexico, have all but secured the two positions from Group B, with two wins each.

The two finalists and third-place team will represent the confederation at next year’s Under-20 World Cup.

Tiffany Cameron has overcome every hurdle that came to the fore while representing both club and country.

In fact, over the past two years, in particular, Cameron stressed the significance of maintaining her physical and mental toughness, especially through the most difficult periods and it is this approach that has resulted in her current success on both fronts.

Despite the challenges along the way, the Canadian-born player, continued to parade her skills with much gusto and recently lead her Hungarian top-flight club ETO FC Gyor to Cup triumph, with hopes of adding the League title to their accolades.

This, as she positions herself for a spot on Lorne Donaldson's 23-player squad to the July 20 to August 20 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Cameron has accounted for 18 goals and 11 assists for her club this season, 15 of those goals coming in the league, where Gyor is set to square off against her former club Ferencvárosi Torna (FTC) in a two-game playoff to determine the champions. The first game is scheduled for Monday.

"I find this funny because 15 is my jersey number for Jamaica and 11 is my jersey number for my club so I find those the 15 goals and 11 assists pretty poetic. But my goal coming into this season was to be a Hungarian Cup winner and also to score more goals than I did last year, so I am happy that I was able to achieve both in what has obviously been a very good season," Cameron said from her base in the Central European country.

"I also had making it to the finals again on my to-do list and making history with ETO by winning the league title, something the club hasn’t done as yet and I am hopeful that we can achieve it this year.

"I’m glad that I have consistently been a key player for ETO FC Gyor since my transfer two years ago, but the work is still not done, so it's just about sticking true to the process and that mental grind that has brought me this far, as the coach can always count on me for my work rate and ability to create goal scoring opportunities for myself and my teammates whenever I'm on the field," she added.

Having defied the odds, Cameron, urged other players who maybe be faced with similar situation to never lose faith in their ability even as they pushed through what might be a down season.

"This is my third consecutive year playing in the Hungarian Playoff League final. To play overseas and achieve feats like these reminds me of how powerful the mind can be. It’s not easy playing away from home, not able to experience the warm embrace of family members when you need it the most," she shared.

"It takes a different type of mindset to embrace the change and still continue to shine and make history. There are bumps in the road and of course it’s never smooth sailing but you have to push beyond the norm and continue to shine and bring out the unique qualities you have," Cameron reasoned.

While her goal output and physical traits makes her well suited as a forward, Cameron, whose timing and vision in the box are perhaps her most outstanding assets, has also demonstrated a free-spirited and versatile approach, as she readily takes on the role as a right full-back when asked to do so for both club and country.

Interestingly, that is the role she played in Gyor's most recent win, in which she had a goal and an assist.

For Cameron, 31, that performance was somewhat of a dress rehearsal for the senior Reggae Girlz upcoming assignments, as she wants to replicate her form in Jamaica's senior Reggae Girlz setup.

"I had a great performance in that game as a wingback basically preparing myself for the summer," Cameron said in reference to the World Cup.

Donaldson, who is expected to name his final squad ahead of a two-game sendoff series on home soil next month, has shown a liking to Cameron's application in the defensive position at the Cup of Nations tournament against Australia and Czech Republic, and more recently against Sheffield United. 

"I don't know what the future holds, but my game fitness is up to par and I've proven that I'm capable of being an offensive threat and also my defensive prowess, so it will be really interesting to see how everything pans out," the jovial player noted.

Jamaica’s young Reggae Girlz chances of securing an historic FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup berth were dented by a 4-0 defeat to Canada in their opening Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championships Group A fixture at the Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Friday.

A brace from Anabelle Chukwu (39th and 45th) and one each from leading scorer Olivia Smith (56^th) and substitute Renee Watson (90+4), made the points safe for the Canadians, who take an early lead in the group.

Reigning seven-time champions United States were leading Panama 3-0 at half-time in the second group contest at the same venue.

Canada could have won by a wider margin, had it not been for some excellent glove work by captain Liya Brooks in goal, as the Young Reggae Girlz, who were expected to use their pace and athleticism to good effect, offered very little resistance, both in defence and even more so on the attacking front.

This as the North Americans comfortably dominated possession, as they showed quality both on and off the ball and were fluent in their transitions from defence to attack.

Besides a couple of early warning shots, the young Reggae Girlz never really bothered Canada’s Faith Fenwick, who had a fairly relaxed day between the sticks.

After the Jamaicans were forced to pull Tiny Seaton, who came out worse in a head collision with teammate Njeri Lewis in the 36^th minute, Canada capitalized on the weakened defensive line and broke the deadlock when Chukwu muscled her way into the 18-yard box to easily fire past Brooks.

The powerfully built Chukwu later grabbed a second when she dispossessed Destiny Powell and made no mistakes in a one-on-one situation with Brooks, to put Canada 2-0 up at the break.

Canada maintained their momentum on the resumption and should have extended the lead four minutes in when Amanda Allen found Chukwu deep inside the six-yard box. But the striker, sporting the number nine jersey, steered her left-footer wide from point blank range.

However, they made amends in the 56^th through a nicely worked team build-up which ended with Captain Florianne Jourde laying off a pass for Smith, who drove a right-footed effort to Brooks’ weaker left side.

With space opened up for Canada’s attackers to do as they please, Jourde tried her range in the 62^nd minute with a stinging left-footer from about 20 yards out, but the effort was equally well-saved by Brooks diving full-stretch to her right.

Another shot from a distance followed soon after, this time from the left foot with that effort having Brooks beaten but came back off the crossbar.

Brooks, who has been the understudy of senior Reggae Girlz counterparts Rebecca Spencer and Sydney Schneider in recent times, again came up big to deny Kayla Briggs’ 73^rd-minute shot from close range.

However, a lapse in concentration by the defence opened the door for Canada to add another when Nyah Rose laid off a pass for the arriving Watson to finish with aplomb in time added.

With only two teams to progress from the group, the young Reggae Girlz task will be even more difficult as their next assignment will be the United States on Sunday. They will then close against Panama on May 30.

Mexico, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and host nation Dominican Republic will decide Group B.

The two finalists and third-place team will represent the confederation at next year’s Under-20 World Cup.