Jamaica at the Copa America: should we expect a surprise from the Reggae Boyz?
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Reggae Rising: Jamaica’s Quest for Glory at the 2024 Copa America
While Jamaica are not members of CONMEBOL, they will be competing in their third Copa America this year having been invited to the 2015 tournament and the Copa America Centenario in 2016. Despite finishing both those tournaments at the bottom of their group, they gained valuable experience and have steadily improved in recent years.
The Reggae Boys earned their spot at the 2024 Copa America by reaching the 2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League semi-final, beating Canada in the quarter-final. Since then, they have taken a massive step toward qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, winning each of their first two qualifiers against Dominica and the Dominican Republic earlier this month.
Jamaica are considered one the biggest outsiders to win the 2024 Copa America, though they enter the tournament having assembled one of the best sides seen in their history, featuring a blend of youth and experience, including the likes of former Everton attacker Demarai Gray.
Can Jamaica Overcome Player Selection Challenges for Copa America 2024?
Jamaica’s preparation for the 2024 Copa America has been marred by fairly significant issues in player selection, which threatens to undermine their chance of glory at the upcoming tournament. The absence of key players such as Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey and West Ham United striker Michail Antonio highlights the problems behind the scenes within the national team.
Bailey, widely considered one of the country’s most talented footballers opted to retire from international duty citing a ‘lack of professionalism’, sub-par facilities, and insufficient compensation as the main reasons for his departure. Similarly, Antonio’s choice to forego participating in the Copa America underlines the structural issues plaguing Jamaican football and leaves the team having to look elsewhere for firepower at the top end of the pitch.
Drawn into Group B, which is widely considered the toughest to predict, the Reggae Boyz will be taking on Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela. While Jamaica could prove worthy contenders to any of their upcoming opponents, Mexico will have the advantage of being very close to home, while Ecuador have arguably been one of the most improved sides in the CONMEBOL region in recent times, conceding only one defeat (to Argentina) in a competitive match since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
As Jamaica prepare to overcome their difficulties and defy the odds at the upcoming tournament, you can track their progress and get all of our expert analyses and opinions for free with our Copa America 2024 predictions, right here on SportyTrader!
Bet on Jamaica at Copa America 2024
Copa America 2024 - Jamaica’s fixture list
As mentioned, Group B at the 2024 Copa America is arguably the most wide-open, with all four sides having never won the competition in its 47 stagings since the event’s inauguration in 1916.
Copa America 2024 will be made up of two stages: the group stage followed by the knockout rounds. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-final and will commence the knockout stages hoping to reach the grand final, which will be played on July 14 at Miami Gardens in Florida.
Here are Jamaica’s group-stage fixtures:
Sunday, June 23 - Mexico vs Jamaica - NRG Stadium
Thursday, June 27 - Ecuador vs Jamaica - Allegiant Stadium
Monday, July 1 - Jamaica vs Venezuela - Q2 Stadium
Be sure to check out our Copa America 2024 Livescores, to stay updated with every kick at this year’s tournament.
What Bets to Place on Jamaica at Copa America 2024?
Ranked 55th according to FIFA World Rankings, Jamaica will enter the 2024 Copa America as one of the biggest outsiders, with only Bolivia, Costa Rica and Panama currently showing up at longer odds. According to the pre-tournament betting, the Reggae Boyz can be backed at odds of 150.0 with Bet365.
Consequently, Jamaica are also the clear underdogs to qualify from Group B, currently priced at 7.50 to finish in the top two during the group stages, 14.00 to reach the semi-final and 40.00 to end the competition as runners-up, according to Unibet.
The opening match of Group B is likely to be the Reggae Boyz' most difficult, as they are set to take on group favourites Mexico, who are also missing a few key players. A first-match victory for Jamaica can currently be locked in at 5.50 with William Hill, while the bookmaker has allocated the Mexicans an even-money chance of making a winning start.
Betway reckons that Jamaica have above a 5.00 chance to beat Ecuador in match two, while the bookie feels that the Reggae Boyz' final group-stage encounter with Venezuela represents their best chance of securing their first-ever Copa America victory, with odds of 3.50 attached to their names.
Keep an eye on the Under 2.5 goals market for Jamaica throughout the group stages. The Regaae Boyz’ usual tactic is to prioritise clean sheets with their major strength lying in their defence and playing on the counter-attack. Fewer than three goals being scored in their opening match against Mexico is currently available at odds of 1.90 with Vbet.
To check out the prices on all of Jamaica’s matches, head over to our Copa America 2024 odds comparator for live odds on every market.
