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• Young Reggae Boyz blanked 3-0 by Cuba to end Concacaf U-20 Champs pointless

  Jamaica’s young Reggae Boyz ended their failed Concacaf Men's Under-20 Championship campaign without a goal or a point after a 0-3 loss to Cuba in their final Group A fixture at the Estadio Leon in Mexico on Friday.

  With the victory, Cuba finished third in the group on four points and booked their spot in the quarterfinal round as one of the two best third-place teams. They join group winners United States, who finished with maximum nine points following their 1-0 win over runners-up Costa Rica (four points).

  The Jamaicans were again undone by poor defending and a lack of offensive intent, which basically summed up their presence in the tournament, as they showed very little quality from the start.

  In fact, they had a slim opportunity to bring their campaign to life but needed to beat Cuba to make it possible. Instead, it was the Spanish-speaking Caribbean team that marched on, as Michael Camejo dazzled Jamaica’s defence with nippy footwork before firing home in the 35th minute.

  Cuba doubled their lead in the 42nd courtesy of David Perez, who capitalised on a defensive error.

  Romain Blake got Jamaica’s lone attempt on target in the 47th, but was denied by Yurdy Hodelin.

  Karel Pérez then wrapped up victory for Cuba when he converted from the penalty spot in the 86th.

  Cuba will face the Group B winner, Honduras, in the quarterfinals.

  Meanwhile, United States, through an all-important strike from Nikolas Tsakiris, his second of the tournament, saw off 10-man Costa Rica.

  After Aiden Harangi’s early effort was denied by the crossbar, Tsakiris then found the game’s solitary goal in the 37th to ensure three-time champions United States remained unbeaten heading into the knockout stage.

  Costa Rica lost Alberth Barahona to a straight red card in the 50th minute.

  United States, the reigning champions, will square off against the best third-place team from either Group B or C in the quarterfinal.

  Elsewhere, Canada and Honduras also booked their spots in the quarterfinal after contrasting 2-1 and 5-2 victories over El Salvador and Dominican Republic in their final Group B encounters at the Sergio Leon Chavez Stadium.

  Both Canada and Honduras ended on seven points each, but the latter secured top spot by virtue of a superior goal difference.

  Canada await the runner-up of Group C.

• “The favourite is Thompson”-Boldon highlights Jamaican champion as man to beat in 100m in Paris

  Trinidadian four-time Olympic medallist Ato Boldon has named Jamaican sprinting sensation Kishane Thompson as his favourite to take 100m gold at the Olympic Games in Paris.

  Thompson, 23, is currently the world leader in the event after running a personal best 9.77 to win the 100m title at the JAAA/Puma National Senior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston in June.

  The MVP Track Club-trained sprinter also produced times of 9.82 and 9.84 in the heats and semi-finals, respectively, at those national championships and, most recently, ran 9.91 shutting down to win at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Hungary on July 9.

  “Thompson is the favourite,” Boldon said in an interview with LetsRundotcom on YouTube on Friday.

  “I know Noah (Lyles) is the World champion. I think Noah made it a little bit more interesting by running that 9.81 into a headwind which kind of almost converts to a 9.77 but there’s no way you can look at the way in which Thompson ran that 9.77 and just go ‘Oh Noah will beat him.’ Noah has his hands full with that guy,” Boldon said.

  Blazing speed acknowledged, one thing that Thompson lacks that his other competitors don’t is experience competing at the highest level of the sport with this being his first time representing Jamaica at any level.

  If there is anything to prevent Thompson from delivering on the form that he’s shown so far this season, Boldon believes that would be this lack of experience on a stage like the Olympic Games compared to his peers.

  “There are things which I see people completely ignoring. Kishane Thompson has not been under the microscope of Olympic favourite. Rounds are a great equalizer. Noah has the medals that he does because of how well he runs rounds. Is Noah suddenly a lock for the silver? No but he does have his hands full,” he said.

  “There are others who are going to be in the 100m that are used to the pressure and pressure is a big thing. If he’s able to pull this off, you write books about stuff like that,” he added.

   Thompson's quest for Olympic glory will begin in the heats of the men's 100m beginning on Saturday' August 3.

   

• ECB chief insists no decision made on Mott future

  England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould has denied reports a decision has already been made on Matthew Mott's future as white-ball coach.

  Mott's future has been called into question in the aftermath of England's failure to defend their T20 World Cup crown in the United States and West Indies, losing to India in the semi-finals.

  Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.

  Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.

  Asked by BBC Test Match Special if Mott's future had already been decided, Gould said: "That's not true. That's certainly not true.

  "Matthew Mott is a really good guy and coach. He's got a great track record and it is the same with [captain] Jos [Buttler].

  "We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.

  "You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.

  "We'll constantly want to assess our options but we'll always want to do the right thing by the sport, the team and individuals."