Paraguay's Nelson Haedo Valdez (#18) and Jamaica's Giles Barnes (#9) (Photo : Reuters)
Paraguay needs to win this match against Jamaica if it wants to have a stronger grip in qualifying for the knockout stages of the 2015 Copa America tournament. La Albirroja will face the Reggae Boyz at the Estadio Regional de Antofagasta in Antofagasta, Chile on Tuesday, June 16.
Ramón Díaz's squad actually did well on Saturday when it forced tournament favorite Argentina to a 2-2 standoff and come away with a point in the overall standings. Jamaica's 0-1 loss to another favorite, Uruguay, kept them scoreless.
A win over Winfried Schäfer's wards would give Paraguay four points and a big chance of entering the quarters. If Uruguay loses to Argentina, then La Albiceleste will be tied in front with the Paraguayans. But if Uruguay wins, La Celeste will have a total of 6 points and one foot in the knockouts while Argentina will still be buried at third place in Group B with one point.
Even as Díaz is well aware of the importance of this match for his side, Schäfer remained unfazed and keen to provide a good show to all the fans watching the tourney.
The Jamaican coach underscored that they are competing in the Copa to advance to the quarterfinals and not just to participate, as per Goal. He also said that his boys will not allow any team a free pass to the quarters and they will give all they have in this match against Paraguay.
"In South America, everyone knows that on our day we can play very well," Schäfer said via Giztimes.
The predicted result is a close 2-1 Paraguay victory over Jamaica. Nelson Haedo Valdez and Lucas Barrios will again star for Los Guaraníes in this game, but Giles Barnes may put the Jamaicans on the board.
