Jamaica vs. Mexico: Gold Cup preview - TV channel/live stream, team news, & prediction

A trip to the 2023 Gold Cup final is on the line when Jamaica and Mexico clash on July 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Allegiant Stadium.

Both sides have impressed in their respective group stage and quarterfinal games, with new coaches and players alike leading the way. For Jamaica, Demarai Gray made his debut against United States, impressing alongside Michail Antonio and Leon Bailey.

Jamaica opened their campaign with an impressive 1-1 draw against the USMNT, and followed that up with a flurry of goals against St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago to finish second in Group A. The Reggae Boyz then knocked off Guatemala, 1-0, to book their place in the semifinal.

Jaime Lozano, who was appointed as the new head coach of El Tri after Diego Cocca was fired last month, has breathed fresh air into the Mexico squad as they topped Group B.

Mexico kicked off their Gold Cup journey with a 4-0 thumping against Honduras, followed by a 3-1 triumph over Haiti. Despite losing to Qatar in their last group stage match, 1-0, where they were simply unlucky on the day as they rested several players, El Tri finished at the top of their group with impressive performances under Lozano.

In 10 previous meetings, Mexico has dominated the head-to-head record against Jamaica, having five wins to Jamaica's one. The two sides have drawn four times before, and the most recent game was a 2-2 draw in the Concacaf Nations League group stage back in March.

Where to watch Jamaica vs. Mexico on TV/live stream?

When is kick-off? 10:00 PM EST

Where is the game being played? Allegiant Stadium

TV channel/live stream? FS1, Univision

What time does TV coverage start? 9:45 PM EST

Jamaica team news

Jamaica has been lead by the outstanding performances of Andre Blake, Damion Lowe, Bobby Decordova-Reid. Gray, who plays for Everton in the Premier League, has two goals and two assists so far while Bailey has two assists as well. Blake has made several crucial saves in each of the Reggae Boyz' games thus far.

Left-back Kemar Lawrence remains a doubt with a hamstring injury, and left-back Amari'i Bell will look to continue his recent run of form in his place as he scored the winning goal against Guatemala in the quarterfinals.

"I would say Mexico is not so different from Guatemala in the sense that there is intensity in their play - both with the ball and without it - so it requires a lot of energy to play teams like we did today, and we play Mexico next," Jamaica head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said in pre-game interviews.

"They play with a lot of intensity and high pressure — really skillful players at a high level. It's just one step higher than maybe Guatemala is at this stage but the same areas of strength. But their individual talent is higher than Guatemala."

Mexico team news

There's no doubt that Jaime Lozano stepped into a difficult situation after taking over as Mexico boss. But he's impressed so far, having El Tri play the type of attacking football everyone knows they are capable of.

Midfielder Luis Chavez had his say about Jamaica ahead of their clash:

"I think it's 50 and 50 percent because it's a complicated team with quality," he said. "They have players with a very high level of offense and they can do us a lot of damage with their speed."

Chaves also believes that this is one of the better Jamaica team in recent years: "Yes, I think so, in my opinion the two games we had were not complete and the games were difficult, now they have all their figures and they will be even more complicated."

Edson Alvarez remains the only player in doubt for El Tri, after he trained separately from the team ahead of the clash.

Prediction

This might be one of the more evenly contested Jamaica-Mexico encounters in recent history. But Mexico, who won the 2015 Gold Cup over Jamaica and were also knocked out of the competition by the Reggae Boyz in 2017, should have enough to get the job done to reach the final.

Jamaica will more than likely have several looks at goal, but the legendary Gulleirmo 'Memo' Ochoa turns up when his country needs him most. It will probably be close, but Jamaica will fall just short against El Tri.

Jamaica 1 - Mexico 2