First place in League A Group B of the CONCACAF Nations League will be up for grabs Thursday when Nicaragua welcome Jamaica to the Nicaragua National Football Stadium in Managua.
Both sides are tied for first with four points after the Nicaraguans claimed a last-gasp 1-1 draw with Cuba on matchday two, while the Reggae Boyz beat Honduras 2-1 in their previous encounter.
Match preview
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Better late than never has been Nicaragua's story to this stage of the new Nations League campaign, as this team have yet to lose a League A fixture.
Their only two goals in the competition this season have come in second-half stoppage time, increasing their unbeaten run to five consecutive matches across all competitions.
That late draw against the Cubans was the fourth time this team had conceded the opening goal in a game this year, and they have not won a match in 2024 when doing so.
On the other hand, they have a 100% record when drawing first blood in a game this year, including a 1-0 triumph over French Guiana on matchday one of this Nations League campaign.
Martin Antonio Figueroa's side have at least a point in 14 straight Nations League encounters, winning their last six games at this tournament in Nicaragua.
Los Pinoleros have not lost to a Caribbean opponent in the Nations League since Suriname claimed a 2-1 victory against them in Nicaragua in November 2019.
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It took a strong second half, combined with a fortunate bounce, but Steve McClaren collected his first victory as Jamaican manager on matchday two.
The former England manager is undefeated after two matches in charge of the Reggae Boyz, as this team ended a four-match winless run in all competitions with their victory over Honduras.
Jamaica have never lost a Nations League group fixture away from home, winning their two matches played outside Jamaica at this tournament last year against Grenada (4-1) and Haiti (3-2).
Since Costa Rica beat them 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying fixture in February 2022, the Reggae Boyz are undefeated in seven consecutive competitive fixtures versus Central American opponents, winning five of their previous six meetings against that region.
On matchday two, they conceded a second-half strike in a Nations League fixture for only the second time since entering League A in the 2022-23 season.
After suffering a defeat in their first-ever meeting against Nicaragua in Jamaica in 2015 (3-2), the Reggae Boyz won their only match versus La Azul y Blanco in Managua later that year (2-0).
Team News
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For a second successive time, Anyelo Velasquez was called up to the Nicaraguan squad for this window and will be seeking his first cap with the national team, while Byron Bonilla, Bancy Hernandez, Ariel Arauz and Jacob Montes are among the newcomers who were not in the squad for their first two matches of this competition.
Jaime Moreno can surpass Marlon Lopez for sixth in all-time caps with the senior squad if he sees the field for this upcoming contest.
Widman Talavera notched his third goal for the national team on matchday two of this tournament in the 96th minute to earn his side a point.
From matchday one to two at this tournament, McClaren made two changes to his Jamaican starting 11, with Greg Leigh replacing Dexter Lembikisa at right-back and Norman Campbell coming in for Jamal Lowe.
Michael Hector is five appearances away from 50 with the national team, while Jamal Lowe and Karoy Anderson can reach double-digits in that department this week.
Denil Maldonado scored an own goal four minutes into the second half to gift Jamaica a lead against the Hondurans, with Michail Antonio netting the winner from the spot 14 minutes before the end.
Nicaragua possible starting lineup:
Rodriguez; Quijano, Fletes, Reyes, Perez; N. Rodriguez, Barrera, J. Coronel, Belli, H. Medina; Moreno
Jamaica possible starting lineup:
Blake; Lembikisa, Pinnock, D. Lowe, Bell; Anderson, Latibeaudiere, Palmer, Decordova-Reid; Nicholson, Antonio
We say: Nicaragua 0-1 Jamaica
These two teams have been very resilient in the early going of the new Nations League campaign, but we believe the Reggae Boyz's individual attacking quality will eventually get the job done against a well-organised Nicaraguan side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
