Canada's coach Dale Mitchell (right) supervising a training session yesterday at the Edward Seaga Sports Complex. Canada will face Jamaica at the National Stadium tomorrow in their final CONCACAF semi-final round World Cup qualifying match. - Junior Dowie

Jamaica's destiny is in their own hands, so says Canada coach, Dale Mitchell, and captain, Paul Stalteri.

The duo, who along with their teammates held their penultimate training session at the Edward Seaga Sports Complex yesterday, ahead of tomorrow's CONCACAF semi-final round World Cup qualifying match against the Reggae Boyz at the National Stadium, said for the Reggae Boyz to advance to the next round, they will have to do it all by themselves.

"It's a World Cup qualifier and we owe it to the other teams in group to give a good account of ourselves," said Stalteri, who represents Fulham in the English Premier League, and at 31 is the team's most experienced player.

"Against Mexico (in their last round of qualifying), we were in a similar position of not having a chance to qualify, and we turned in one of our best performances of the campaign," he added.

Semi-final round

The Canadians, who, unlike Mexico and Honduras, arrived on Sunday - four days before match, have in their line-up a blend of youth and experience.

At the top of the ladder will be defender Stalteri, goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld and forward Charles Gbeke, who are both 30, while at the other side of the spectrum will be four players who are 21 or younger, including Jamaican-born forward Simeon Jackson, who plays for Gillingham in England.

Canada, who are out of the running for a spot in the semi-final round have two points from five games. Jamaica, with seven points from five matches, are third in the group behind leaders Mexico (10), and Honduras (nine). Mexico and Honduras have also played five games and will meet tomorrow in match which will kick off at 8 p.m., the same time as the Jamaica versus Canada encounter. The top two countries from the group will advance to next year's final round.

"It's an opportunity for the young players to perform and learn from the experienced ones that are in the squad, and once we are able to do that effectively, we should be able to come out with a positive result," Stalteri added.

Prove themselves

But if Stalteri was unrelenting, the same or even more could be said of Mitchell, who without a smile on his face, explained that while they were out, they want to end the campaign on a high.

"We cannot not but give of our best. If Jamaica go out, play well and win, credit to them, but we want to win, and if we can, it would be great," said Mitchell. "It's always tough when you know that you are out, but we have a good group of youngsters, who are excited to prove themselves, and the hope is that they will deliver," Mitchell declared.

The Reggae Boyz, including those who arrived from Europe and the United States on Sunday and yesterday, trained at the National Stadium last night. Among those who arrived on Sunday were captain Ricardo Gardner, Ricardo Fuller and Ian Goodison.