PASADENA, Calif. -- Jamaica goalkeeper Andre Blake hailed his team's 1-0 Gold Cup victory over Mexico as one of the best results in the Reggae Boyz recent history and is confident his side can pull off an upset in the final against the United States.
A late free kick from Kemar Lawrence sealed the famous win for Jamaica in front of a Mexico-majority crowd in the Rose Bowl, with El Tri dominating possession, but Jamaica remaining dangerous on the counter.
"Since the 1998 World Cup, this is one of the biggest wins in the country's history, so it's something we're going to cherish," man-of-the-match Blake said after the game.
"But also we have to forget about it quickly because our main aim is to win the Gold Cup and we haven't done that yet."
Blake pulled off four good saves over the 90 minutes and the Philadelphia keeper has been one of the most impressive players in the Gold Cup so far, which he is obviously pleased about.
"It's always good when you can lead from the front on the field as the captain," said the 26-year-old.
"My challenge now is to forget about this game and look towards the final. Hopefully I can put on an even better performance."
The former University of Connecticut goalkeeper stressed that the young squad -- made up of players almost exclusively born on the Caribbean island and playing in North America -- is hungry for success and believes in its chances of success against the Stars and Stripes in Wednesday's final.
"I believe in the guys. I never doubt the guys. It won't be easy, obviously," said Blake. "The United States have a very good team, they have experienced players, but for us we know we have to figure out a game plan, execute it, everyone give 110 percent and whatever he result we'll be happy with that.
"We got to try to give the game whatever it takes. Sometimes an ugly win is better than a pretty loss."