A solid showing by the Reggae Boyz away to Honduras on Wednesday will put them in good stead of advancing to the final round of the 2010 CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying.
But with Honduras winning four of their five World Cup Qualifying matches at home and drawing the other, Jamaica will have to string together their most memorable performance to date.
Honduras (number 64 in the world) are ranked the third best team in CONCACAF, compared to Jamaica (105 in the world) who are in 11th place, but the Central Americans scoring rate has not been as well. The Hondurans have scored only seven goals against the Jamaicans, conceding one from their five home matches.
Overall, Honduras have won four of their eight matches against Jamaica in World Cup Qualifying, drawing two and losing two. The Central Americans have netted nine goals with eight against.
Head to Head matches in World Cup Qualifying
DATE RESULTS
5 Sept 2001 Honduras 1-0 Jamaica
25 April 2001 Jamaica 1-1 Honduras
8 Oct 2000 Honduras 1-0 Jamaica
23 July 2000 Jamaica 3-1 Honduras
27 Oct 1996 Honduras 0-0 Jamaica
15 Sept 1996 Jamaica 3-0 Honduras
8 Dec 1968 Jamaica 0-2 Honduras
5 Dec 1968 Honduras 3-1 Jamaica
All told, Honduras have played Jamaica 18 times, winning nine, drawing five and losing four - with 38 goals for and 18 goals against.
In the eight matches that Honduras have played this year, they have won five, drawn two and lost one. Mexico beat them 2-1 in World Cup Qualifying on August 20 and Venezuela and Puerto Rico drew with them 1-1 and 2-2 in a friendly on May 30 and in World Cup Qualifying on June 14 respectively.
The Hondurans have beaten Paraguay (2-0), Colombia (2-1), Puerto Rico (4-0), Haiti (3-1) and Canada (2-1).
In the 2001 Copa America, the rugged Honduras placed third when they beat Uruguay 5-4 on penalties (2-2); while in the Gold Cup, the Hondurans were runners-up in 1991 (losing 4-3 to the USA on penalties) and shared third-place with Colombia in 2005 as a result of reaching the semi-finals (USA beat Honduras 2-1 and Panama stopped Colombia 3-2).
With 12 appearances in World Cup Qualifying which started in 1962 and once in the World Cup Finals (in Spain 1982), the Hondurans are hoping to book their ticket to South Africa, joining Egypt, Australia, Ecuador, Turkey, El Salvador, Algeria and South Africa as nations that have made two appearances on the biggest stage in world football.
So far in Group 2 of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying, Jamaica are crawling at the bottom of the standings:
Teams P W D L GF GA Pts
Mexico 2 2 0 0 5 1 6
Honduras 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
Canada 2 0 1 1 2 3 1
Jamaica 2 0 1 1 1 4 1
The Hondurans have relied on Benfica striker David Oscar Suazo, Wigan midfielder Wilson Palacios, Parma striker Julio Cesar Leon, and midfielder Ramon Nuñez to get ahead and their inclusion Wednesday could spell trouble for the Reggae Boyz. Honduras have not lost their last eight home games against Jamaica and will no doubt want to keep that record intact for a while.
But with Honduras winning four of their five World Cup Qualifying matches at home and drawing the other, Jamaica will have to string together their most memorable performance to date.
Honduras (number 64 in the world) are ranked the third best team in CONCACAF, compared to Jamaica (105 in the world) who are in 11th place, but the Central Americans scoring rate has not been as well. The Hondurans have scored only seven goals against the Jamaicans, conceding one from their five home matches.
Overall, Honduras have won four of their eight matches against Jamaica in World Cup Qualifying, drawing two and losing two. The Central Americans have netted nine goals with eight against.
Head to Head matches in World Cup Qualifying
DATE RESULTS
5 Sept 2001 Honduras 1-0 Jamaica
25 April 2001 Jamaica 1-1 Honduras
8 Oct 2000 Honduras 1-0 Jamaica
23 July 2000 Jamaica 3-1 Honduras
27 Oct 1996 Honduras 0-0 Jamaica
15 Sept 1996 Jamaica 3-0 Honduras
8 Dec 1968 Jamaica 0-2 Honduras
5 Dec 1968 Honduras 3-1 Jamaica
All told, Honduras have played Jamaica 18 times, winning nine, drawing five and losing four - with 38 goals for and 18 goals against.
In the eight matches that Honduras have played this year, they have won five, drawn two and lost one. Mexico beat them 2-1 in World Cup Qualifying on August 20 and Venezuela and Puerto Rico drew with them 1-1 and 2-2 in a friendly on May 30 and in World Cup Qualifying on June 14 respectively.
The Hondurans have beaten Paraguay (2-0), Colombia (2-1), Puerto Rico (4-0), Haiti (3-1) and Canada (2-1).
In the 2001 Copa America, the rugged Honduras placed third when they beat Uruguay 5-4 on penalties (2-2); while in the Gold Cup, the Hondurans were runners-up in 1991 (losing 4-3 to the USA on penalties) and shared third-place with Colombia in 2005 as a result of reaching the semi-finals (USA beat Honduras 2-1 and Panama stopped Colombia 3-2).
With 12 appearances in World Cup Qualifying which started in 1962 and once in the World Cup Finals (in Spain 1982), the Hondurans are hoping to book their ticket to South Africa, joining Egypt, Australia, Ecuador, Turkey, El Salvador, Algeria and South Africa as nations that have made two appearances on the biggest stage in world football.
So far in Group 2 of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying, Jamaica are crawling at the bottom of the standings:
Teams P W D L GF GA Pts
Mexico 2 2 0 0 5 1 6
Honduras 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
Canada 2 0 1 1 2 3 1
Jamaica 2 0 1 1 1 4 1
The Hondurans have relied on Benfica striker David Oscar Suazo, Wigan midfielder Wilson Palacios, Parma striker Julio Cesar Leon, and midfielder Ramon Nuñez to get ahead and their inclusion Wednesday could spell trouble for the Reggae Boyz. Honduras have not lost their last eight home games against Jamaica and will no doubt want to keep that record intact for a while.