Jamaican striker Jason Wright.

The hopes of the nation will be on Jamaica's young Reggae Boyz this afternoon when they seek to qualify for this summer's FIFA Under-17 World Cup at the expense of Honduras when the two teams meet in a much-anticipated CONCACAF quarter-final fixture at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall, St James, starting at 3 o'clock.

Trinidad & Tobago, the second of the two Caribbean quarter-finalists, will also be in the hunt for one of the tournament's four World Cup places today when they battle the fancied Canada in the noon curtain-raiser, which promises to be an epic affair.

measuring up

After a nervous start to the tournament in a 2-2 draw against T&T, the young Jamaicans sparkled in their next game, clipping Guatemala 1-0. After the game, Jamaica's head coach, Wendell Downswell, said the youngsters were now measuring up to the expectations of the coaching staff.

"We played quite well against Guatemala and we are confident that we will do the same against Honduras, who are also a Central American team," said Downswell. "The boys know that we are just 90 minutes away from what we have been working so hard for and I have every confidence that they will get the job done."

After reasonable performances in their 2-1 win against Barbados and 0-0 draw against Canada, Honduras look a pretty decent outfit. In fact, after their game against Canada, team coach Emilio Umanzor said confidence was extremely high in the team.

"I am happy with the way the team is playing at this time," said coach Umanzor. "To get to the World Cup, we have to get by Jamaica and that is what we intend to do."

In their bid to emulate the team which qualified for the 1999 Under-17 World Cup, in New Zealand, Jamaica's charge will be led by striker Jason Wright, who scored against both T&T and Guatemala, skipper Omar Holness, the robust Alvas Powell and the wily Cardell Benbow who all played well against Guatemala.

For their part, the Hondurans will be hoping that Bryan Rochez and Eder Valasque, who scored in the game against Barbados, will enjoy more success against another Caribbean team.

In the curtain-raiser, the T&T team, on a high after their 2-2 draw against Jamaica and 1-0 win against Guatemala, will be hard-pressed to contain a Canadian team, which looked ominous in spanking Barbados 8-0 but subsequently looked ordinary in a 0-0 draw against Honduras.

Yesterday's results: Panama 1 Costa Rica 0; United States 3 El Salvador 2. Panama and the United States have qualified for the Under-17 World Cup.

National Under-17 captain Omar Holness (centre) and members of his squad before their opening match last week. They enter today's quarter-final match against Honduras at Catherine Hall knowing that victory will see them seal a spot in this summer's FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Mexico. - file