President of the Jamaica Football Federation Michael Ricketts strongly believes the Reggae Boyz can pull off an upset to eliminate the United States of America in the two-legged quarter-final match in the CONCACAF Nations League.

The Reggae Boyz will host the Americans on Thursday, November 14, at the National Stadium before travelling to the USA for the return leg on Monday, November 18.

“It’s the nature of the quarter-final. What a game!” Ricketts told Our Today. “I was encouraged by somebody who told me that Mexico beat them 2-0 not so long ago and Canada actually beat them, too. So, I shouldn’t be too worried.”

He added: “I was hopeful that it’d be either Canada or Panama. But as it is now, we just have to brace ourselves for the challenge. US [is] always gonna be tough. But we kind of been developing a history of doing well against the US in recent times. So, we’re not too worried.”

The four winners of the home-and-away series will advance to the 2025 CONCACAF Nations League Final and qualify for the 2025 Gold Cup. This means a victory for Jamaica will propel them straight into the Nations League group of four final and the Gold Cup.

However, if Jamaica lose they will then drop into a Gold Cup play-off series scheduled for March 2025. “We just need to execute on the field. I think we have the players to do well. But it’s to get the chemistry right and to ensure that you execute on the field on the day, and then you’ll get a good result,” said Ricketts.

The president is even more confident as he has seen first-hand the work done by new coach Steve McClaren. “I am not so technically inclined even to make that comment. But based on what the players have said to me — in fact, one of the most senior of all our players has said to me that it is at a level that he has never seen,” he pointed out. “So, that in itself is a statement that would give me some comfort that the coach is highly respected by the players.”

He continued: “And the results so far have been not bad; good, to say the least. We just hope that as time goes by, it will get the chemistry right, get the right players on the field and then we’ll get some very good and positive results.”

This game will be of significance to both head coaches, McClaren and USA’s Mauricio Pochettino who will renew their rivalry from the English Premier League days with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs. In 32 matches since 1988, the USA have won 19 of those games while losing three times. On March 21, 2024, the USA defeated Jamaica 3-1 in extra time after battling to a 1-1 draw in normal time in the semi-final of the Nations League. Jamaica and the USA drew 1-1 in the Gold Cup in 2023 and 1-1 in the World Cup qualifier in 2021. The last time Jamaica beat the USA was in 2019 when they emerged 1-0 winners in an International Friendly.