Donovan Duckie - file

Saddled with the responsibility of being Jamaica's last chance for at least some semblance of World Cup salvation, national Under-20 coach Donovan Duckie believes his team is focused and ready to deliver, as they aim for a spot in the CONCACAF under-20 final round.

The young Reggae Boyz will kick off their campaign in the penultimate round, the Caribbean Football Union World Cup qualifiers tomorrow, when they tackle Haiti in St Vincent and the Grenadines. In addition to Haiti the team will face the host team and the Dominican Republic.

"It means a lot to all of us, a lot to the federation and a lot to the country, it's the only tournament that we still have a chance to qualify for a World Cup from, so we are putting our best foot forward," Duckie said.

"I am satisfied with the team's preparation, we have a talented group of players and from what they have shown, I know they are ready to give 100 per cent," he added.

No laughing matter

It certainly was no laughing matter when the coach put the team, which departed for the Lesser Antilles yesterday, through their paces in an intense training session at St George's on Tuesday night. With the national senior team faltering at the semi-final stage of World Cup qualification and all other youth teams already out of contention, Duckie is hoping that his group will be able to salvage something for the country.

Despite qualifying for the round with ease, following convincing win in the previous round, held in Aruba last November, the coach believes that the squad has been improved with the addition of a few new players, among them schoolboy standouts Kemal Malcolm and Shammar Shelton, both of Manning Cup and Olivier Shield champions St George's.

"As a coach you are always looking to improve the team. In Aruba we won fairly comfortably but I thought the team was still lacking something," Duckie explained.

"On arriving here we added a couple of players, they have really stepped up to the plate, I have been impressed with their performance and they earned a chance to prove themselves," he added.

Strong Haitian test

The Jamaicans are expected to be tested right off the bat, as they face a Haitian team which has retained the core of a team which booked their place in the Under 17 World Cup.

The team prepared for the campaign with a series of games against local premier league opposition, defeating Portmore United 3-0, playing their way to a 2-2 draw against Tivoli and a 0-0 draw with super league team Jamaica Defence Force.

The winner of the final round will earn an automatic berth to the CONCACAF under-20 finals in Trinidad & Tobago along with the host, Canada, Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica and El Salvador. The final place in the eight-team championship will be determined in a play-off.

Jamaica Under-20 squad

Romario Campbell

Andre Blake

Theo Brown

Andre Darby

Alonzo Adlam

Andre Campbell

Kadian Wynter

Leaughn Williams

Dennis Taylor

Andre Steele

Keithy Simpson

Christopher Banner

McKauly Tulloch

Evan Taylor

Davian Thorpe

Dever Orgill

Robert Palmer

Lynval Wilson

Kemal Malcolm

Shamar Shelton