Honduras vs Jamaica 6/17/19 CONCACAF Gold Cup Odds, Preview, and Prediction

2017 runner-up Jamaica open their 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign against Honduras on June 17, 2019, at Independence Park in Kingston, Jamaica.

The match will serve as the main event for a double-header event in Jamaica which will feature the four teams in Group B of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Prior to that match, a curtain raiser between Curacao and El Salvador will open the day’s schedule.

Honduras and Jamaica are bracketed in Group C along with Curacao and El Salvador. The top two teams per Group will advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Gold Cup. The winner of Group C will face the Runner-up of Group D in the quarterfinals. The Runner-up of Group C will move on to play the Group D winners in the same round. Both games will be played on June 30, 2019, in Philadelphia. The winners of both quarterfinals matches will meet in the semifinals on July 3, 2019, in Nashville with the victor going to the Final which will be held on July 7, 2019, in Chicago.

Here is the complete schedule for Group C:

Group C Fixtures

Let’s take a look at the game between Honduras and Jamaica:

Honduras

Honduras enter this competition as the 61st- ranked team in the world according to the FIFA rankings. In their continent, Honduras is 4th in the CONCACAF’s rankings. The team qualified for the 2019 Gold Cup via the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying hexagonal. This will be their 14th Gold Cup appearance and 20th overall, including the CONCACAF Championship. Honduras won this tournament in 1981 and were runners-up in 1991.

This is Fabian Coito’s final squad:

• Goalkeepers: Luis Lopez, Harold Fonseca, Rafael Zuniga
• Defenders: Maynor Figueroa, Emilio Izaguirre, Brayan Beckeles, Henry Figueroa, Andy Najar, Ever Alvarado, Felix Crisanto, Danilo Acosta, Denil Maldonado
• Midfielders: Bryan Acosta, Luis Garrido, Alexander Lopez, Michaell Chirinos, Jorge Alvarez, Hector Castellanos
• Forwards: Romell Quioto, Alberth Elis, Anthony Lozano, Roger Rojas, Rubilio Castillo

Jamaica

Jamaica is the co-hosts of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They earned a spot in the tournament by finishing 8th in the 2019-20 CONCACAF Nations League qualifying tournament. The Jamaicans are making their 11th Gold Cup appearance and 13th overall, including the CONCACAF Championship. They are ranked 56th in the FIFA world rankings and 7th in the CONCACAF continental rankings. Jamaica was the Runners-up in 2015 and 2017.

Here are the members of Theodore Whitmore’s final squad

• Goalkeepers: Dwayne Miller, Andre Blake, Amal Knight
• Defenders: Kemar Lawrence, Alvas Powell, Michael Hector, Damion Lowe, Shaun Francis, Kevon Lambert, Jamoi Topey
• Midfielders: Je-Vaughn Watson, Ricardo Morris, Peter-Lee Vassell, Devon Williams, Andre Lewis, Leon Bailey, Tyreek Magee
• Forwards: Darren Mattocks, Dever Orgill, Shamar Nicholson, Maalique Foster, Junior Flemmings, Brian Brown

Who Wins?

Honduras played its final tune-up match against powerhouse Brazil last June 9th. They looked hapless as the Samba Boys mauled them 7-0 in an international friendly. Honduras have won just once in their last eight matches played They also have four losses and three draws over that period. They defeated Panama 1-0 last November 16th. Honduras also had drawn against the United Arab Emirates (1-1), Ecuador (0-0) and Paraguay (1-1). Aside from Brazil, they also lost to South Korea (0-2), El Salvador (0-1) and Chile (1-4).

On the other hand, Jamaica has won three out of its last five matches played. The Jamaicans blanked Bonaire 6-0 and knocked off Suriname 2-1 during the 2019-20 CONCACAF Nations League qualifying tournament. They lost to El Salvador 0-2 in the same tournament, dropped a 1-0 decision to Costa Rica in an exhibition match and then defeated the United States men’s national team 1-0 in a friendly just last June 5th.

Head to head, these two squads have played against each other a total of 24 times. Honduras have won 12 times, Jamaica has seven victories and these teams played to a draw in five meetings. More recently though, Jamaica has won three out of their last six meetings with two losses and one draw during that period. In their last encounter, an international friendly in 2017, Jamaica won 1-0.

The soccer betting gods have installed Jamaica as favorites to win this fixture. They have been consistent in this tournament, finishing as runner-up in the last two installments. Rising Bundesliga talent Leon Bailey of Bayer Leverkusen will make his first appearance for the Reggae Boyz after he had declined previous invitations to play for the team.

Jamaica’s 23-man team is composed mostly of MLS club players and in fact, there are only four members on the team that plays domestically in Jamaica. These are midfielders Andre Lewis, Ricardo Morris, and Tyreek Magee and goalkeeper Amal Knight. A Surprise omission on the team was 26-year old Ravel Morrison who is a former West Manchester United and Ham United player.

On the other hand, Honduras will be led by skipper Maynor Figueroa who has 150 international appearances. On offense, Figueroa’s Houston Dynamo teammate and striker Alberth Elis will team up with forwarding Anthony Lozano of Girona. They are the current (2017) Central American Cup winners.

Honduras is no slouch and they made the World Cup in 2010 and 2014. They are also a force in Central America Cup being the 2017 winners. They also have Jamaica’s number when it comes to head competition. But Jamaica is a team on the rise. The Reggae Boyz have finished second in this tournament during the last two editions. In 2017, they defeated powerhouse Mexico in the semifinals. With plenty of international experience on their side plus the inclusion of Leon Bailey in the squad makes me go with the Reggae Boyz Prediction: Jamaica

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