Costa Rica and Jamaica open Group B activity of the Gold Cup
The Costa Rica and Jamaica national teams open tonight the activity of Group B of the Gold Cup at StubHub Center (7:00 pm. Gol TV).
Costa Rica, led by English Fullham midfielder Bryan Ruiz, dreams of winning the championship for the first time in 12 appearances and their first obstacle will be the defensive wall of Jamaica.
"Our duty is to give our best effort and try to win the Gold Cup," said Ruiz, the Costa Rican team's star player after the absence of World Cup goalkeeper Keylor Navas due to injury.
The Costa Rican team, led by former player Paulo Wanchope, is the favorite in Group B, where El Salvador and Canada also figure, the only champion among the four selected teams, who will face each other later.
"The team has gradually improved and we are working very hard, we end up tired in training sessions," said Ruiz, referring to the three months of work that Wanchope has in the Central American team.
"La Sele's" first training in the United States prior to the match against Jamaica at the Stub Center.
For the Costa Rican team, winning against Jamaica will be an important first challenge.
"It is vital to win the first match because it becomes a morale boost that can lead us to very good things during the competition," said midfielder Celso Borges.
Costa Rica begins its path against Jamaica, who left a good impression at the recent Copa America in Chile under the command of German coach Winfried Schäfer.
In the South American tournament, where they attended as guests, Jamaica lost all three group stage matches by the same 1-0 score against Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Although the "Reggae Boyz" were eliminated in the group stage, their tactical organization, discipline, and dedication made German coach proud, who believes in the simple philosophy of not fearing anyone and never going onto the field thinking about losing.
"The moment is good to leave a good impression and attack more," said assistant coach Miguel Coley.
In the Jamaican lineup stands out Norwegian Sarpsborg 08 goalkeeper Dwayne Miller, who made great saves against Paraguayan Roque Santa Cruz and Lionel Messi in the Copa America.
Possible Lineups:
COSTA RICA: Esteban Alvarado; Christian Gamboa, Giancarlo González, Roy Miller, Junior Díaz; José Cubero, Celso Borges, Bryan Ruiz, Deyver Venegas; Joel Campbell and David Ramírez.
JAMAICA: Dwayne Miller; Wes Morgan, Alvas Powell, Adrian Mariappa, Kemar Lawrence, Jermaine Taylor; Joel McAnuff, Je-Vaughn Watson, Joel Grant; Giles Barnes and Darren Mattocks.