Jamaica progress impresses Schafer

Jamaica’s winless Copa America campaign has not been without merit, with coach Winfried Schafer praising his side’s performances ahead of the final Group B match against Argentina.

Narrow 1-0 losses to Uruguay and Paraguay have left Jamaica hoping for a minor miracle against Argentina in Vina del Mar in order to keep alive hopes of qualifying as the best third-placed side.

But Schafer feels the tournament has offered the perfect opportunity to assess Jamaica’s progress and he is looking forward to taking on Lionel Messi and his team-mates on Saturday.

“I am very proud of the performance of our team,” he said. “The first match [against Uruguay] was very very good, the second match [against Paraguay], in the second half, was very good – our discipline on the field, our tactics, our football was fantastic, everybody gave 100 per cent.

“Our problem is we don’t shoot at goal. We have to work harder with the strikers, more shooting.

“Before the tournament I thought it’s important we can play one of the best teams in the world, Argentina, or Uruguay. We can learn, we can see how football in Jamaica is.

“I think we make big steps in our performance and I am very happy about this. My team has character, spirit. The football is fantastic. 

“The next step is the Gold Cup, the next step is qualification in August and September for the World Cup final group.”