Crystal Palace defender Adrian Mariappa is hoping that his national team Jamaica fair better in their second tournament of the summer, with the side narrowly losing all three matches in the Copa America, after accepting an invitation, only to be placed in a tough group with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Jamaica were knocked out in the group stages with those three defeats but ahead of their second tournament, the 28-year-old is confident that his side can enjoy more success when they return to more homely conditions in North America for the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition.
The Caribbean island have been drawn in a group with Costa Rica, El Salvador and Canada for the competition. Palace player Mariappa, who is a key figure in the Jamaica team, spoke encouragingly about their prospects:
“We used these games (in the Copa America) as a building block and then we’ll try to go forward from there,” he said to the official club website.
“We’ve been playing against some of the best players and the best player in the world (in Lionel Messi), so we knew it was going to be tough.
“It was difficult. I’ve played games like that throughout my career, with my club team maybe every week. You’ve to weather the storm sometimes.
“In the Gold Cup. I definitely think we should progress from our group. I think in that competition we can get to the later rounds if we definitely play like we have in the Copa America.”
The competition will include team such as six-time winners Mexico and five-time winners USA. Jamaica’s best showing in the tournament was a third-place finish in 1993.
