Two of the CONCACAF sides with an outside chance of earning a place at the 2022 World Cup meet in qualifying at the weekend, as Jamaica host Panama.

Neither side managed to earn a win in their opener in midweek, so will be hoping to kickstart their qualification bid at Independence Park.

Match preview

Jamaica will be confident of their chances of reaching only their second ever World Cup next year in Qatar, after only appearing in the finals in 1998 previously.

However, in order to do so they will need to improve their disappointing form as of late.

Across the CONCACAF Gold Cup earlier this summer and the opening qualifier in midweek, the Jamaicans have lost their last three matches.

Although, these defeats have all fallen on away trips to arguably the three strongest teams in the CONCACAF region - Costa Rica, USA and Mexico.

There were positives to take from these fixtures though, particularly the fact that the losses were all just by a single-goal margin.

The most recent of these was the loss in Mexico earlier this week. For large parts of the match it appeared that the Reggae Boyz would come away with a hard-fought impressive point, but eventually fell to a late 89th-minute winner in a 2-1 scoreline.

As for the visitors, Panama also failed to win in their opening qualifier of this Octagonal stage of World Cup qualifying earlier in the week.

The nation will be wondering how they did not open with three points however, as they battered their opponents Costa Rica for large parts of the match, which included 18 shots to just four from their visitors, but eventually had to settle for a goalless draw to begin with a point.

On a plus note, Panama will be pleased with the clean sheet after conceding 10 goals in their previous four matches in all competitions prior to that game, which included an early exit from the CONCACAF Gold Cup at the group stage.

Thomas Christiansen's side will now be hoping for a positive result in Jamaica at the weekend, as they look to repeat their heroics of their previous qualification campaign, which saw Panama qualify for their first ever World Cup.

They will remain confident of their chances in earning a result against a side that they have only tasted defeat to once before. However, this did arrive in their last meeting back in 2019, after six previous unbeaten encounters.

Team News

Jamaica's available squad of players for the Panama match at the weekend has a completely different look to the one that was at manager Theodore Whitmore's disposal for the trip to Mexico.

Due to travel restrictions, the UK-based Jamaicans were unavailable for the Mexico encounter but are able to face Panama in Jamaica this weekend.

This means a host of important players are returning, including Ethan Pinnock, Liam Moore, Ravel Morrison, Daniel Johnson, Bobby Reid, Leon Bailey, Jamal Lowe, Kemar Roofe and Michail Antonio, to name a few.

This adds a far more dangerous look to the Jamaican forward line, with many of these players expected to start against Panama.

Meanwhile, Anibal Godoy returned to the Panama squad in the opening qualifier after missing the Gold Cup tournament earlier this summer.

The midfielder earned his 107th cap for his country, whilst fellow experienced teammate Alberto Quintero Medina gained his 113th in a squad that is blessed with a mix of veterans and emerging youngsters.

Defenders Ivan Anderson and Jorge Gutierrez are still awaiting debuts for their country after being selected in the squad.

Jamaica possible starting lineup:
Blake; Powell, Moore, Pinnock, Lawrence; Bailey, Johnson, S Williams, Reid; Burke, Antonio

Panama possible starting lineup:
Mejia; Murillo, Escobar, Andrade, Davis; Carrasquilla, Godoy; Quintero, Barcenas, Rodriguez; Blackburn

We say: Jamaica 2-1 Panama

With a host of important players returning for Jamaica, it is hard to see past them with the quality they will possess, particularly in the final third. Panama will not go down without a fight but we believe their hosts will have too much for them in this one.

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