Reggae Girlz head coach Hubert Busby Jr said the team is well rested and ready to close out action in Group B of the Concacaf W Qualifiers today when they take on Guyana at the National Stadium at 7 p.m.
The Girlz are seeking to secure their spot in the Concacaf W Championship with a positive result against the Guyanese.
They enter the fixture as strong favourites to advance from the group and sit atop the standings with a perfect record of nine points from their three games played.
However, their spot in the next round is not yet confirmed as mathematically, Nicaragua and Guyana are still in contention.
Both teams sit second and third respectively with six points, but Nicaragua hold the advantage over Guyana with a better goal difference.
Should Jamaica fall to Guyana, it opens the door for the two teams to advance, albeit on goal difference.
Expects strong challenge
With this in mind, Busby said he expects a strong challenge from the Guyanese who will have all to play for.
“Guyana are a strong, organised team,” the Reggae Girlz boss said in his pre-match interview.
“At the end of the day, mathematically, they’re not out so we’re expecting a very challenging match from them tomorrow.”
Busby said the Reggae Girlz have respected each opponent throughout the group stage and will be doing the same against Guyana. However, he is confident his players have the quality to get the win in front of their home fans.
“We respect each and every opponent. I’ve been saying that from day one,” Busby explained.
“They’re an organised group. They’ll come here looking to impose their will on us and for us, it’s really about ensuring that we stick to our tactical plan,” he continued.
“Like I said, we respect what they need to do but it’s really about us looking to go out there and executing the things that we want to do on our home pitch.”
Reggae Girl Deneisha Blackwood said they are aiming to set the standard and dominate the game from early.
Blackwood explained that the Girlz will enter the fixture as favourites, and should be ready to exceed those expectations.
“I think going into this final one as players, and as a senior player, is just making sure we’re setting the standard even from the warm-up,” she said. “The other team’s coaches are watching the warm-ups so [we have to] make them fear us from then.”
“[They] see how we’re warming up, how we’re approaching the warm-up and the standard is set from there,” she continued.
“I think from then it is just going in the game with quality and pride and dominating from the first whistle.”
Time to prepare
Busby said one of the key differences for this game has been the number of days they have had to prepare.
The Girlz have been afforded a week since their last outing against Antigua and Barbuda to prepare for today’s match, which gave Busby a lot of time to instil his tactics.
The extended time between games also means the Girlz will enter today’s game well rested and high on energy.
“The training sessions have been good, lively, and very competitive, which has been great to see,” Busby said.
“The players have had a chance to take a little bit of time off and recharge. I think that’s done them wonders because they’ve been back in training, the energy’s been high, the focus has been good,” he continued.
“Usually we’ve got in match day minus three, play the game and then right after the game we’re out, so we’ve had some time to work on some of our match plan and implement some of the things as it pertains to our playing model, which has been good.”
The winners of the group will advance to the Concacaf W Championship, which will serve as the qualification tournament for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
