SANTA CLARA, California – To date, Jamaica are the only nation from the Caribbean to have reached a Concacaf Gold Cup Final, having pulled off that achievement in back-to-back editions in 2015 and 2017.
The current crop of players in the 2023 tournament boasts many different faces than the one that made history last decade, but the desire to make history is intact.
In fact, this current Jamaica squad, which went unbeaten in the group stage with two wins and a draw and defeated Saint Kitts and Nevis 5-0 in their group stage finale on Sunday, is keen to become the first island nation to lift the trophy altogether.
“That'd be brilliant, it would be amazing. We know we can do it with the players we have. This is a very strong squad, and we need to show that we're not one of the smaller teams because we have the quality in the team to beat the bigger teams,” said DF Dexter Lembikisa.
Lembikisa is one of many young players called to the Jamaica squad by Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, with the Wolverhampton Wanderers man making his Gold Cup debut at the age of 19.
The England-born right back has adapted seamless, playing in all three group stage games for the Reggae Boyz and starting the opening match versus the United States, which ended in a 1-1 draw, followed by the Group A finale with Saint Kitts and Nevis.
The opportunity to represent the Jamaica colors on such a big stage has been the thrill of a lifetime.
“It is definitely a blessing. I'm very thankful to go and represent my country at 19 years old. I'm very proud, my family are proud and it's amazing to go and play in these wonderful stadiums at my age, as well as putting on the colors from my country,” concluded Lembikisa.
