Are the Jamaicans celebrating their next away coup?
The “Reggae Boyz” can breathe a sigh of relief – at least for now. In the last international break, Jamaica gave up the red lantern to Honduras and celebrated an important away victory against their group rivals. In doing so, the Jamaican national team also retained its chance of making it to the 2022 World Cup.
Jamaica is currently only three points behind fourth-placed Panama. It is therefore all the more important to build on the recent away win in Honduras and also score three points in El Salvador. Like the “Reggae Boyz”, the Salvadorans have five points to their name. In return, the last international break was far from satisfactory for El Salvador.
After a win against the Panamanian national team, defeats against Costa Rica and Mexico followed. The Salvadorans will be able to cope with the latter, but the result against the Costa Ricans was nothing to write home about. It is quite possible that the form crisis will now also intensify against Jamaica.
In the dress rehearsal before the showdown with Jamaica, El Salvador recently suffered a test match defeat against Bolivia. Nevertheless, the best bookmakers see El Salvador against Jamaica as slight favourites according to the odds. Among other things, the assessment will be justified by the recent head-to-head comparison between the two nations.
El Salvador – Statistics & current form
With the entire second leg of the current CONCACAF World Cup qualifying campaign still to come, El Salvador still have a chance to punch their ticket to a World Cup for the first time since 1982. Above all, fourth place is still within reach for the Salvadorans. Currently, only three points separate “La Selecta” from a play-off place in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers.
At the start of the group, the Salvadorans drew a surprising point against the US Americans. Since then, the Salvadorans have been in a crisis of form. They have only won one of their last seven international matches. Most recently, they even suffered three defeats in a row, including the most recent test match loss against Bolivia.
It is rather unrealistic to expect them to overcome Jamaica at home in their current form. Nevertheless, the bookmakers see the Salvadorans as favourites against the “Reggae Boyz” on matchday seven. Meanwhile, odds of only 2.40 are offered for a home win for El Salvador vs. Jamaica.
Will the fourth defeat in a row?
In the last 21 years, El Salvador have won only one home match against Jamaica. The last time the two nations met in a World Cup qualifier, the Salvadorans suffered a clear defeat (0:3) against the “Reggae Boyz”.
Because the defensive bulwark of “La Selecta” has made a good impression so far, a heavy defeat can be ruled out this time. After all, El Salvador has already been able to largely defy Mexico’s offensive in its own stadium and conceded only two goals. For long stretches, the Salvadorans even played shorthanded.
National coach Hugo Pérez can draw on a wide range of options during the current international break. Compared to the starting eleven that was last on the pitch in the test match against Bolivia, changes cannot be ruled out.
Predicted line-up of El Salvador:
Gonzalez; Tamacas, Dominguez, Vigil, Roldan; Ceren, Orellana, Monterrosa; Henriquez; Rivas, Pineda
Last matches played by El Salvador:
Friendly
11/06 2021 – El Salvador 0 – 1 Bolivia
World Cup qualifier CONCACAF finals
10/14 2021 – El Salvador 0 – 2 Mexico
10/11 2021 – Costa Rica 2 – 1 El Salvador
10/08 2021 – El Salvador 1 – 0 Panama
Friendly
09/25 2021 – El Salvador 0 – 2 Guatemala
Jamaica – Statistics & current form
At the last international break, Jamaica managed to turn things around in the ongoing 2022 World Cup qualifiers. The “Reggae Boyz” not only celebrated their first win in the current qualifying phase, but also relinquished the red lantern. With five points under their belt, Jamaica also set the course for a comeback.
The “Reggae Boyz” are still three points away from fourth place, which at least guarantees participation in the play-offs. However, they are already five points behind a direct starting place for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. With Mexico, the USA and Canada currently in excellent form, it is doubtful whether the three CONCACAF heavyweights will be dethroned.
For the time being, the Jamaicans’ primary goal is to finish fourth. It is therefore all the more important to score three points in the away game in El Salvador. In their last two group matches, the Jamaican national team drew with Canada and won away in Honduras.
Next away coup for the Jamaicans?
For the first time since November 2019, the “Reggae Boyz” are targeting two away wins in a row. One encouraging factor in this regard is the away record at the Salvadorans. Jamaica have won four of their last six away matches against their upcoming opponents. The last time was in August 2012, when the Jamaicans celebrated a narrow victory (2-0) in El Salvador.
Because the team of national coach Theodore Whitmore was quite convincing during the last international break, it cannot be ruled out that the away record in El Salvador will be improved. After all, the “Reggae Boyz” are starting the current international break with their best line-up. The Jamaicans are not expected to make any major changes compared to their last starting eleven.
Predicted Jamaica line-up:
Blake; Fisher, Moore, Mariappa, Lawrence; Grant, Watson, Morrison; Roofe, Antonio, Reid
Last matches played by Jamaica:
World Cup Qualifiers CONCACAF Finals
10/14 2021 – Honduras 0 – 2 Jamaica
10/11 2021 – Jamaica 0 – 0 Canada
10/08 2021 – USA 2 – 0 Jamaica
09/09 2021 – Costa Rica 1 – 1 Jamaica
09/06 2021 – Jamaica 0 – 3 Panama
El Salvador – Jamaica Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
This is the 25th time the two nations have met. Jamaica currently lead the head-to-head comparison against the Salvadorans with a record of 10-8-6. However, El Salvador have gone unbeaten in their last three international matches, including a win at the 2019 CONCACAF Nations League. The last time the two sides met was in the 2019 Gold Cup.
That saw a goalless draw between El Salvador and Jamaica. We are not ruling out a low-scoring encounter this time either.
El Salvador – Jamaica Tip
The Jamaicans will be looking to continue their recent winning trend in El Salvador and keep their chances of reaching the 2022 World Cup alive with their next victory in the current qualifying phase. The last time the “Reggae Boyz” were at the World Cup was in 1998, since then the Jamaicans have failed to qualify five times in a row.
El Salvador, on the other hand, has not qualified for a World Cup since 1982. Because “La Selecta” is currently in a crisis of form, it is obvious that the negative series of World Cup qualifiers will continue this year. Most recently, there were two defeats in a row in the World Cup qualifiers in the CONCACAF zone.
Before the match against Jamaica, El Salvador also lost their dress rehearsal against Bolivia. We therefore tend to rule out a win for the Salvadorans and expect a point win for the “Reggae Boyz”. With a stake of five units, we place our bet on El Salvador vs. Jamaica at good odds on “Double Chance X2”
