Jamaica will have to be at their best to overcome their opponents in Group B of next month's CONCACAF Women's Championships in the United States.
Head coach of Jamaica’s Reggae Girls, Hue Menzies, is tempering expectations for the national team who has been drawn alongside Canada, Costa Rica, and Cuba in Group B of the CONCACAF Women’s Championships set for the United States next month.
Jamaica, winners of the CONCACAF Caribbean qualifiers on Sunday, when they drubbed Cuba 6-1 at the National Stadium in Kingston, will take on their opponents in Edinburgh, Texas in the championships that will run from October 4-17.
Meanwhile, the USA, Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico will play in Group A.
Based on Jamaica’s success in the recent qualifiers during which they defeated Antigua and Barbuda 9-0, Bermuda 4-0, TT 4-1 before ending with the demolition of Cuba, fans of the Reggae Girls have expressed confidence in the team’s ability to advance from the group and earn a place at next year’s World Cup as one of the top three teams.
However, Menzies played down those expectations when he spoke with SportsMax.TV on Tuesday.
“People are calling me saying this group is easier and all that but when you are at the level, everything is a challenge,” he said. “Costa Rica is going to be a challenge. Cuba in the second half of their game was more effective in the first half when we played them. We only scored one goal and they ended up scoring a goal at the end. They came out with a different game plan, and obviously, Canada, we don’t have to talk about Canada, they’re at a different level. So the group of going to be tough.”
He was quick to recall that Costa Rica defeated Jamaica 2-1 when the teams met at the CAC Championships earlier this year.
“They were missing some of their players, we were missing some of our players but they are a very good team. That was the closest we have ever played them.”
Jamaica, he said, will have to play their best football if they are to get out of the group and have a shot at qualifying for the 2019 World Cup.
“Everybody is going to be their best foot forward so we just have to hope that nobody gets injured and hope that we can execute our game plan and take the momentum that we had from the Caribbean games into the next round,” Menzies said.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Neymar leaving PSG not possible without replacement, says Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel admitted Paris Saint-Germain missed Neymar in their shock defeat to Rennes and ruled out an exit for the Brazil star unless an adequate replacement is brought in.
Neymar's prolonged absence from the PSG squad continued on Sunday as the Ligue 1 champions fell to a 2-1 loss at Rennes in their first away outing of the new campaign.
The 27-year-old Neymar has been recovering from an ankle injury that has ruled him out of action since early June, while questions remain over his future amid strong links with Real Madrid and former club Barcelona.
After seeing his side struggle for creativity at Roazhon Park, however, head coach Tuchel stood firm on his stance that PSG must keep hold of the player.
"He will not leave without recruitment, it is not possible," Tuchel said at his post-match news conference. "It's clear - if he stays, we will have a player who will help us win.
"We lacked capacity for acceleration. There were small situations where space opened but we were not decisive."
Tuchel told Canal +: "I always say the same thing, the transfer window is open even more than 10 days and you think it will be settled tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?
"What I think is not important. Today my player cannot play because he has not done any training like the others. This is the situation, and nothing has changed."
Edinson Cavani was gifted a 36th-minute goal by Rennes following an error from Damien Da Silva, but PSG managed just one further shot on target and were made to pay by the side that also beat them in April's Coupe de France final.
Goals either side of half-time from M'Baye Niang and Romain Del Castillo handed Rennes all three points, but Tuchel downplayed the magnitude of the defeat so early in the season.
"It was a difficult match, but we expected it," he said. "We do not have everyone available. Some players only participated in two weeks of training.
"These situations are normal in August. We are not at our best. Against a physical team like Rennes, who gives everything, whose players run like crazy, in a match in prime time, it's normal that it was complicated for us.
"We scored the first goal, we controlled the match and made mistakes. We had to close the match after the first goal. We were not able to do it.
"We conceded a goal with a two against one in the area. We got very close to the Rennes area, but we lacked tenacity to win against some offensive.
"In these conditions, it was difficult to create opportunities. We can lose a match like that, but we could win it too."
Despite a run of five away defeats in six league matches stretching into last season, Tuchel insisted he does not fear the sack and called for some patience.
"I'm a very happy man," he said. "There is no one who is putting more pressure on myself than me. It's the same for every coach."
"We can play better than today. Things are not easy - everyone has improved in Ligue 1 and the Champions League. It's time to be patient and to keep your confidence. We cannot question everything after a bad result."
Who is Eduardo Camavinga? The Rennes teenager taking Ligue 1 by storm
Paris Saint-Germain endured another tough encounter against their Coupe de France final conquerors Rennes on Sunday, with the hosts coming from behind to claim a 2-1 win at Roazhon Park.
Playing a starring role in a fine performance from Julien Stephan's side was 16-year-old midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.
Romain Del Castillo's 48th-minute winner came courtesy of Camavinga's sumptuous cross – a moment typical of the quality the youngster carried throughout the contest.
Here, we tell you a little bit more about a teenage talent who looks set to become one of the hottest properties in European football in the not-too-distant future.
Latest talent off Rennes' conveyor belt
Responsible for bringing through the likes of Sylvain Wiltord, Yoann Gourcuff, Yann M'Vila, Moussa Sow, Yacine Brahimi and Ousmane Dembele, Rennes clearly liked what they saw with Camavinga as he became the youngest player from their academy to sign professional terms.
He signed in December 2018 after impressing at age-grade level and did not have to wait long to make an impact in the first team.
History maker
Camavinga was handed his debut in a 3-3 draw with Angers in April when brought on as a last-minute substitute for M'Baye Niang.
The youngster impressed enough to play a further six times before the end of the 2018-19 campaign, starting four of those matches.
The first of those starts came in a 2-2 draw with Monaco, making him the first player born after January 1, 2002 to start a game in the top five European leagues.
If you're good enough, you're old enough
Rennes knew they had a talent on their hands and, nine months after he penned his first professional contract, they offered Camavinga a new deal running through a further year until 2022.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the hype surrounding him, head coach Stephan has used the Angola-born teen in every minute of Rennes' three matches this season, including both matches against PSG.
Having been on the losing side in the Trophee des Champions clash on August 3, Camavinga had a lot more joy when the sides locked horns in Ligue 1 on Sunday by setting up Del Castillo's winner early in the second half.
In doing so, he became the youngest player to deliver an assist in the French top flight since Opta started recording such data in 2006-07.
What next?
The display against PSG will attract all the plaudits given the calibre of opposition and magnitude of the result, although Stephan will no doubt be just as pleased with Camavinga's performance against Montpellier the week before.
Leading 1-0 when Flavien Tait was dismissed, Rennes did not lose control of the match thanks largely to their prodigious young talent.
No Rennes player managed more touches of the ball or won more duels than Camavinga, who also ended the game with the second-highest pass count of any Rennes player – completing 97.6 per cent of those.
It is surely now just a matter of time before Europe's heavyweight clubs, PSG included, begin to circle for a player who does not turn 17 for another three months.
At his current rate of progression, and with new records being set seemingly on a weekly basis, Camavinga appears to be heading to the top.
'I feel ready to go again' - McLeod feels positive for Doha after coaching change
Jamaica world and Olympic champion Omar McLeod believes things are getting back to normal, following yet another chance in training regime.
The 25-year-old had trained with Eldrick Floreal up until late 2018 but then moved to Gary Evans at Empire Athletics in Florida. Tony Ross at World Fastest Humans was his hurdles coach. The athlete has since struggled, however. Before claiming the top spot in Birmingham on Sunday, McLeod won only two hurdles races and has a season-best time of 13.12s set at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai, China.
The athlete is, however, rumored to have joined the Tumbleweed camp of elite coach Rana Reider in Jacksonville, Florida, earlier this month and seems to be in a better frame of mind. On Sunday, at the Birmingham Diamond League meet, McLeod clocked 13.21, well clear of the United States’ Freddie Crittenden (13.31) and Xie Wenjun (13.43). Following the win, the athlete admitted, the target was getting in shape for the World Championships.
“It was pretty easy and felt good. It was nice to make up for what happened in London. I'm in a new environment with a new coach and I feel like I'm ready to go again,” McLeod said.
“For Doha, I need to go there in the best possible shape and not been half-bothered about it. Anything can happen and I need to go there as defending champion and be ready to compete,” he added.
“I have the Diamond League finals prior to Doha so I need to be ready for that.”
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