Blake positive about 2021
Published:Tuesday | October 6, 2020 | 6:22 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
National senior men’s football team captain and goalkeeper Andre Blake says that the Reggae Boyz’s compact summer schedule in 2021 could end up being advantageous should they have a successful campaign at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Jamaica have been drawn in Group C with Costa Rica, Suriname, and a preliminary-round qualifier, which will be determined between July 2 and July 6, 2021, days before the scheduled July 10 start of the group stage.
By that time, the Boyz would be in the middle of a loaded summer slate, with the final round of the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers having already started in June, with four games in that month, including three difficult away fixtures against Mexico, Costa Rica, and the United States, respectively. However, Blake says that the packed assignments offer an opportunity for team continuity, which could serve them in the long run if they can go on another deep tournament run.
“We normally don’t get a lot of friendly games, so the more games we get to play together as a team, I think that can be very beneficial for us, especially if we can go into the Gold Cup and win the whole thing,” Blake told The Gleaner. “Then we will have a lot of confidence going into the World Cup qualifiers [in September].”
While confident about the team’s chances of advancing from the group, Blake says that they cannot take any team for granted.
“We are in a group that we should [advance from], but I will continue to reiterate that we have to go out there and do what is expected and do what is required because we are just not automatically going to make it out of the group,” he said. “It’s a fair group, but it’s still a competitive group, but once we take care of business, we should make it out of the group.”
Jamaica made the semi-finals of the last three tournaments, including back -to-back finals in 2015 and 2017. While believing that past performances do not guarantee success in 2021, Blake said that they are aiming at finally winning the nation’s first continental title.
“Nothing is guaranteed,” he said. “But that should be a confidence booster for us to know that we still have the next step to take. There is still this bitter taste in our mouths. We have done well in the last three tournaments. We just have to piggyback off that and go in, and, hopefully, 2021 is the year that we go all the way.”