KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC-Goal-starved Jamaica faces CONCACAF giants Mexico in the first of two World Cup Qualifiers at the national stadium in Kingston today.
And, winger Gareth McCleary is overly keen on bringing his English Premier League goal scoring form in an effort to end his country’s drought.
“To be honest, I can’t wait for the game to start; I want it to start now, so I am very much looking forward to it,” McCleary told The Gleaner. “Every player wants to play against the best teams, so for most of us I know we are going to be thriving.”
McCleary represented Reading in the just-concluded English Premier League, from which they were relegated.
The 26-year-old spent the earlier part of the season on the bench, but when the club acquired new manager Nigel Adkins in March, he started seeing more playing time.
“I scored a few more goals under the new manager, so hopefully I can bring that form into the national team and, hopefully, get some more goals from where I left off at Reading,” McCleary said.
“I think this will be my fourth cap and I pride myself on goals and creating goals, so if I can do that and bring something to the team, I will be more than happy.”
The Reggae Boyz have found the back of the net only once in the three games they have played to date in the final phase of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying (WCQ) campaign.
The goal was headed in from a corner kick by defensive midfielder Marvin Elliott in a 1-1 draw against Panama at the National Stadium.
The Reggae Boyz, languishing at the bottom of the table , are in desperate need of goals as they prepare to play three qualifiers in eight days, the second being against the United States on Friday.
“I think most of the team will be disappointed that we haven’t scored more goals. We have created a few chances, and I think if you ask anyone we are a bit disappointed,” McCleary said.
“We got to take each game as it comes and, hopefully, we can start by getting a few goals against Mexico at home.”