Jamaica has reached the final of the last two Concacaf Gold Cups, falling in 2015 to Mexico and in 2017 to the United States. Now, the Reggae Boyz seem capable of challenging again after a 3-2 victory over Honduras in their Group C opener Monday night at their national stadium in Kingston.
The introduction of Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey has seriously boosted Jamaica’s offense, though the defense is built around a lower-profile center back based in Norway: former University of Hartford standout Damion Lowe.
In Jamaica’s pre-tournament win over the USMNT (1-0), as well as the Honduras match, head coach Theodore Whitmore paired Lowe with Louisville City defender Shaun Francis, with Adrian Mariappa recovering from injury. Lowe has honed his abilities at IK Start the last two-plus seasons and, at 26, seems ready to make the jump to a bigger stage.