Coping with chaos will be important when Canada faces Jamaica on the road Friday night in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals, says interim coach Mauro Biello.
Biello knows history won’t be on the side of the Canadian men, who haven’t won a soccer game in Jamaica in 35 years. The second game in the two-match, aggregate series will be Tuesday at Toronto’s BMO Field.
“We’re expecting a difficult game there,” Biello told a conference call Thursday. “For us it’s about getting the result.
“It’s how we manage the chaos, and there’ll be a lot of chaos in these two games. In these two-game series it’s always important in the first one getting that result and giving us that opportunity to take care of business back home.”
Canada has a 1-6-5 record playing in Jamaica with the only victory a 4-0 decision on April 5, 1988.
Biello stated the 45th-ranked Canadians need to be physically and mentally prepared for conditions at Independence Park when they face the No. 55 Reggae Boyz. Friday’s forecast for Kingston is 27 C, rain and 90 per cent humidity.
“It’s about fighting, it’s about battling,” he said. “We’re expecting a lot of rain. Who knows what the field is going to look like. I have to prepare the team not only tactically but I have to prepare their mindset.
“Players have to understand they may have to go out of their norm sometimes in these types of games. If we’re strong mentally, we’re able to react in different moments in different situations.”
The winner of the series earns a berth in the 2024 Copa America.
Canada, Mexico, the U.S. and Costa Rica were given byes to the final eight of the competition, based on the March 2023 CONCACAF rankings.
Panama, Jamaica, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago advanced via a qualifying round in the September and October international windows.
The winners move on to the CONCACAF Nations League finals next March, as well as securing their ticket to Copa America as guest teams at the South American championship.
The quarterfinal losers have an opportunity to join them, via a single-match elimination play-in in March that will decide the two remaining slots for CONCACAF entries.
In their last meeting in March 2022, Canada defeated Jamaica 4-0 at BMO field, clinching qualification for last year’s World Cup.
Canada’s last game was a 4-1 loss to Japan in an Oct. 13 friendly. The match was Canada’s first under Biello, a former assistant coach who was put in charge after John Herdman left to take over Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC.
