Jamaica’s hopes of advancing to the Copa América quarterfinals were dealt a major blow on Tuesday when the Reggae Boyz lost 1-0 to Paraguay in Antofagasta, Chile, to fall to 0-2 at the tournament.
Four MLS players saw action for the CONCACAF side, with New York Red Bulls defender Kemar Lawrence going the full 90, Houston Dynamo forward Giles Barnes and FC Dallas midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson both starting and subbing off in the second half and Vancouver Whitecaps striker Darren Mattocks coming off the bench for the final 15 minutes.
Former San Jose Earthquakes attacker Simon Dawkins started and played 75 minutes for Jamaica, while former Colorado Rapids forward Deshorn Brown played the final 28 minutes.
Paraguay scored the match’s lone goal on a bizarre play in the 36th minute. Jamaica goalkeeper Duwayne Kerr rushed out of the box to head a long ball out of danger, but his attempted clearance smashed against Edgar Benitez, with the ball rebounding off the Paraguay midfielder and bouncing all the way into the net.
Jamaica had several chances to equalize in the second half, with Garath McCleary nearly burying a long-range effort in the 80th minute and Mattocks heading over the bar in second-half stoppage time.
The loss leaves Jamaica in last place in Group B. They need to pull a big upset against Argentina and have Paraguay top Uruguay to have any hope of becoming one of two third-place teams to advance to the Copa América quarterfinals.
