Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor
TORONTO:
WHETHER THE youthful backup staff will complement the seasoned members of Jamaica's team well enough to hold off Canada's well-fortified unit in their house is the big question to be answered when the Reggae Boyz launch into semi-final round World Cup qualifying at the BMO Field here tonight.
This opening challenge in the CONCACAF Group Two is set to kick off in fairly cool 28-degree conditions, similar to what pertains in Jamaica at 7:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. Jamaica time).
The outstanding performances by Jamaica's sprinters at the Olympics in Beijing have not only raised the spirit of the country, but also this team, so it was not strange that René Simoes, the technical director of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), chose an analogy depicting one of the running achievements to defend his selections and belief in the inexperienced members of his squad.
"Before he (Usain Bolt) got the world record, his coach (Glen Mills) knew that he could do it," said Simoes, pointing to Mills' confidence about his 21-year-old charge.
"You can see if the player is there ... you know they are ready," he added, following a team training session on Monday night which was ended abruptly by a sharp, heavy downpour and lightning.
Opening doors
When asked about other players not chosen, the Brazilian reinforced the point that he doesn't focus on players not in his squad.
"Always, I don't think about that," he said. "You close the window, you open the door. There is always an opportunity for someone else."
Strangely, a quadriceps injury suffered by key defender Tyrone Marshall in a match over a week ago has opened the door for one of two relatively inexperienced Jamaicans who will start today, Obrian Woodbine. The 20-year-old plays at right fullback.
The game is being played at the home ground of Marshall's club, Toronto FC, whose artificial turf presents some concerns for Simoes, as it is unfamiliar to his team.
Addressing the media after his team's final training session shortly after midday yesterday, Dale Mitchell, Canada's coach, said the artificial surface also posed problems for his team because most of his squad members "play on grass".
The big-game situation facing a full stadium away from home is also very unusual for Woodbine, and 19-year-old midfielder Evan Taylor.
Combined, both have 10 caps, including both legs of Jamaica's second-round 13-0 aggregate mauling of the Bahamas.
Different proposition
But even Simoes knows the Canadians - who played very well in a May 31 3-2 loss to Brazil - will present a different proposition.
"We can't consider the Bahamas. This is the first game," he noted of the elimination series.
Against the Bahamas, Simoes lined up a powerful Jamaican squad with 18 overseas-based players on call. But the Brazilian says limited access to the players makes it difficult to impose his philosophy on the team, leading to a change in focus by zooming in on players readily available through clubs in Jamaica.
Still, the starting team includes nearly all the more experienced and better quality players in the squad, distinguished by the pros representing clubs in Europe and the United States, and midfielder Wolry Wolfe, who plays in Trinidad and Tobago.
Central positions
He shares a flank position with Demar Phillips, while Taylor and the dynamic Rudolph Austin will hold central positions, providing a buffer for the defence led by skipper Ricardo Gardner and fellow France '98 veteran Ian Goodison, along with Woodbine.
Donovan Ricketts will keep goal, a contrasting responsibility to that of Andrew Williams and Deon Burton, the most frontal of attacking options.
Burton accounted for three goals in what was really a warm-up series against Bermuda, while Luton Shelton, the last man to have joined the camp at training when arriving straight from the airport on Monday evening, is an exciting option from the bench, which also includes gifted playmaker Jermaine Hue.
Strong Canadians
The Canadians are ranked 79th by FIFA, 29 places above Jamaica. Both countries have generally been involved in some close results and won one game apiece the last time they met, in 2006, with Hue scoring a penalty in a 2-1 victory in Kingston. Canada won the first game 1-0 in Montreal on Rob Friend's goal.
This is the strongest squad assembled by Canada in recent years and they lead the head-to-head standings with six wins, five draws and two losses. Significantly, Jamaica have never beaten them in North America.
Their 18-man squad is stacked with international pros - 13 of whom are based with European clubs.
They include Deportivo de la Coruna's Julian de Guzman, whose mother is Jamaican, Skoda Xanthi's Tomasz Radzinski, Friend of Borussia Moenchen-gladbach, Tottenham Hotspur's Paul Stalteri, FC Kopenhaven's Atiba Hutchinson, Cologne's Kevin McKenna and Mike Klukowski.
Squads
Jamaica: Donovan Ricketts, Shawn Sawyers, Ricardo Gardner (captain), Ian Goodison, Tyrone Marshall, Demar Stewart, Jermaine Taylor, Obrian Woodbine, Evan Taylor, Jevaughn Watson, Davion Thorpe, Keneil Moodie, Rudolph Austin, Jermaine Hue, Andrew Williams, Demar Phillips, Omar Cummings, Deon Burton, Luton Shelton.
Canada: Greg Sutton, Daniel Imhof, Mike Klukowski, Kevin McKenna, Adrian Serioux, Julian de Guzman, Paul Stalteri, Jim Brennan, Tomasz Radzinski, Ali Gerba, Richard Hastings, Issey Nakajima-Farran, Atiba Hutchinson, Dwayne De Rosario, Patrice Bernier, Rob Friend, Iain Hume, Pat Onstad.
