Matchday two at the Gold Cup begins with a pair of Caribbean rivals squaring off for the third time this year as Jamaica face Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday at CityPark in St. Louis.

In the opening match at this tournament, the Reggae Boyz conceded two minutes before the 90, drawing the reigning champions USA 1-1, while the Soca Warriors moved to the top of the group with a 3-0 triumph over Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Match preview

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We saw another solid performance from the Jamaicans this past weekend, which again went unrewarded, extending their winless run to nine matches in all competitions.

It is the third time in 2023 that they had managed to score the opening goals, as Heimir Hallgrimsson remains without a victory as manager of this team.

With the Americans looking vulnerable on the counter and a goal down after 13 minutes, Jamaica could not deliver that killer blow, missing a penalty just before the half-hour mark, a chance they would come to rue in the second half.

That opening draw was the first time since 2019 that the Jamaicans had dropped points when scoring the first goal in a group stage encounter at this competition and only the second time they have done so in the 2000s.

Wednesday will be the first time they battle Trinidad and Tobago at the Gold Cup, with the Reggae Boyz failing to score in their previous two meetings against them this year, losing 1-0 on March 11, and following that up with a 0-0 draw three days later.

Although they have not beaten or scored versus the Soca Warriors in four successive international friendlies, this group have been able to get results against them in the more meaningful games, losing only once this century in either a World Cup qualifier or the now-defunct Caribbean Cup.

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The Soca Warriors put on quite the show in their opening fixture, scoring on three of their four targeted efforts, ending a six-match winless run at the group stage of this competition, a streak which went back to 2015.

It was the first time this team had scored three goals in a Gold Cup fixture since 2015 and their largest-ever victory at this tournament.

Angus Eve has often been criticised as being too defensive in his approach, and hanging back when leading, but there were few signs of that on Sunday as they scored twice in the final 45 minutes after going into half-time up 1-0, ending the match with 66% possession.

Before their victory on Sunday Trinidad had only ever triumphed twice in their opening Gold Cup group fixture and the last time they managed that in 2015, this team went on to top their group for the first time, finishing two points above the eventual champions that year, Mexico.

It has been over three years since they suffered a defeat to a Caribbean opponent, falling 1-0 in a friendly versus Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in August 2019.

They have only given up one goal in the opening half of their previous five group stage encounters at the Gold Cup, while the Soca Warriors have now scored in the first 45 minutes of their last two encounters at this competition after failing to do so in seven successive Gold Cup games going back to 2015.

Team News

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All but three of the Jamaican players who were in the starting 11 versus the US currently play their club football in England, as Demarai Gray and Joel Latibeaudiere collected their first caps with the Reggae Boyz, Adrian Mariappa made his 68th appearance, Michail Antonio made his first international start since February 2022, while Andre Blake began in goal for the first time since September replacing Jahmali Waite.

Gray set up the opening goal from Damion Lowe as his free kick was headed in by the Philadelphia Union defender, Leon Bailey saw his 29th-minute penalty saved by Matt Turner, while Dexter Lembikisa and Kemar Lawrence collected their third and 75th caps, respectively, for the senior team.

It has been over a year since their top goalscorer chosen for this competition, Shamar Nicholson, found the back of the net on the international stage, while Cory Burke had the equalising goal for them on matchday two of this competition two years ago versus Guadeloupe as they went on to win 2-1.

The Soca Warriors added one new player to their roster days before their opening fixture as Luke Singh took the place of the injured Daniel Phillips, Nicklas Frenderup made his 10th appearance between the sticks, replacing Marvin Phillip, Sheldon Bateau collected his 50th international cap, Triston Hodge featured for the 25th time, while Malcolm Shaw picked up his first cap for the senior side.

Alvin Jones put home the winner minutes before the end of the opening half on Sunday, Ajani Fortune notched his first international goal, while Saint Kitts defender Jameel Ible scored against his own team as Trinidad won comfortably.

Levi Garcia and Ryan Telfer are the only Trinidadian strikers selected for this tournament that have found the back of the net for them internationally, with Garcia last scoring in June 2022, while Telder had one earlier this year in a CONCACAF Nations League triumph over the Bahamas (3-0).

Jamaica possible starting lineup:
Blake; Lembikisa, Lowe, Mariappa, Lawrence; Reid, Lambert, Johnson, Parris; Bailey, Antonio

Trinidad and Tobago possible starting lineup:
Phillip; A. Jones, Moses, Bateau, J. Jones; Rampersad, Hackshaw; Fortune, Molino, Auvray; Garcia

We say: Jamaica 1-0 Trinidad and Tobago

Even though it has been a while since the Reggae Boys won a match, we believe they are due for a victory on Wednesday as this team have built some solid chemistry, and know how to handle the pressure of the Gold Cup.

Trinidad surprised many with a direct approach on Sunday, which overwhelmed Saint Kitts, but penetrating an experienced Jamaican backline and beating the top goalkeeper in MLS from 2022 promises to be a lot more challenging.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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