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Jamaica got off to a creditable but frustrating start in the 2015 Copa America. There is no shame in losing 1-0 to Uruguay on South American soil. But the game was close enough to be frustrating for a team that could justifiably believe it could have done better.
Head coach Winfried Schaefer voiced those frustrations post-match: "I'm proud of the performance of the players, but not happy with the result."
Schaefer went on to declare his side was targeting the quarterfinals of the competition:
When I go to a tournament if I don’t want to go to the second round, then the JFF president should take me out
But he also noted Jamaica's priority this year is not to beat a few teams in CONMEBOL:
I hope the people in Chile and South America know now that we can play good football in Jamaica, though our main goal is preparation for the World Cup qualification.
So the Reggae Boyz will head into this game with, one imagines, both confidence and perspective. They may need to lean heavily on that perspective if they lose: Jamaica will be all but eliminated from the competition if Paraguay picks up three points, since that would mean any possible outcome of the Uruguay-Argentina game (that follows this one) would be sufficient to put two teams out reach of Group B's CONCACAF hopeful.
JeVaughn Watson is expected to be available for selection for this game, having arrived late to the squad and missed the team's opening game of the tournament.
Paraguay will be tough opponent - perhaps tougher than Uruguay, since the Paraguayans fought back from two goals down against Lionel Messi's Argentina to claim a 2-2 draw in their opening match. But Jamaica will be the underdog in every game it plays in this tournament. As the team showed against Uruguay, that status need not prevent the Reggae Boyz from holding their own in CONMEBOL's showpiece competition.