Mexico vs. Jamaica
Copa America Centenario – Group C
June 9 | 10:00 pm ET | Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
TV: FS1, Univision, UDN
It was all smiles for Mexico on Sunday night as they defeated Uruguay 3-1 in their opening match of Copa America Centenario. Their captain, Rafa Marquez, played the hero as he scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute in front of a raucous pro-Mexican crowd.
After watching the game unfold in Arizona, there is no doubt that Mexico are one of two home teams in this tournament. They will try to use another passionate crowd to that advantage on Thursday night against Jamaica at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Jamaica are coming off one of the more disappointing performances in Copa America so far, a 1-0 loss to Venezuela in Chicago. If they have any hope of advancing to the quarterfinals, they will need a win against Mexico.
Starting With a Bang
It was one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the group stage and it didn’t disappoint. El Tri and Uruguay produced a great match that ended with a Mexico win. Juan Carlos Osorio’s team will look to continue that magic with some of the unconventional moves that the former New York Red Bulls coach showed against Uruguay.
Two players who normally ply their trade along the backline, Diego Reyes and Miguel Layun, played as defensive midfielders while Hector Herrera was played further up the field than he’s used to. We should expect to see similar tactics employed vs. Jamaica considering the result against Uruguay.
Wes-Turn
One of the more shocking moments of the tournament's early stages came when Wes Morgan did not get the start for Jamaica against Venezuela. Head coach Winfried Schafer said the reason was because Morgan had been partying too much after lifting the English Premier League trophy with Leicester City, and simply was not ready to take the field. That’s why it was so surprising when he entered the match in the 40th minute for an injured Kemar Lawrence. He played well in his 50 minutes for a Jamaica team that was already a man down, and we should expect him to play the full 90 for the Reggae Boyz against Mexico.
Reggae Revenge
Jamaica and Mexico are very familiar with each other after many years of playing in CONCACAF. All of those games coalesced in last summer’s Gold Cup, when the two teams met in the final at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Jamaica came in as the darlings of the tournament, while Mexico only reached the game after some questionable refereeing decisions.
As the game progressed, it became clear all that did not matter, as Mexico defeated the Reggae Boyz 3-1. Giles Barnes, along with the rest of his teammates, will be looking for some measure of revenge against a team they watched lift the trophy.
