Jamaica will be looking to rebound in style when they tackle Guadeloupe in Group C of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, USA at 6:45 pm Jamaican time on Friday.

The Reggae Boyz suffered a shock 0-1 defeat to Guatemala in their opening game and are sitting in third spot behind leaders Panama and Guatemala on three points each.

Another defeat would put Jamaica in a difficult position to advance to the quarterfinals. However, head coach Steve McClaren is expecting an improved display from the Boyz.

“We were very disappointed against Guatemala, and we will have to win the next two games,” he said in a pre-match press conference. “The next one is against Guadeloupe, and we need a reaction from the team. The mood after the game was disappointing, but the mood has lifted, and hopefully we get a performance and a result,” said McClaren.

This evening’s game will mark the second meeting between the nations in the Gold Cup. They first played each other in the 2021 edition, with Jamaica winning 2-1 in Orlando, Florida.

Jamaica is undefeated all-time against Guadeloupe in eight encounters, with six victories in favour.

Guadeloupe are coming off a 2-5 loss to Panama and could feel the wrath of a Jamaican team seeking their first points of the campaign.

The most lopsided result in the series came in the 1999 Caribbean Cup when Jamaica cruised to a 5-1 victory.