Thomas Eisenhuth/EFE

Mexico

Nobody had imagined that Jamaica would find itself atop Group C, albeit tied with South Africa in points, or that Mexico - a powerhouse which has won the Gold Cup four times - would be in third place in the group prior to its last game of the opening round.

Although the Mexicans don't seem to be in dire straits given that the Gold Cup allows eight of the 12 competing teams to advance to the quarterfinals, it will have to dominate Jamaica if it wants to lead the group, something that had seemed all but a foregone conclusion - before the competition started, that is.

Mexico, evidently discombobulated by overconfidence, lost its first game to South Africa, but managed to find its focus in its second outing to crush Guatemala 4-0.

Jamaica, coached by Wendell Downswell, has been a welcome surprise in this year's Gold Cup competition, defeating Guatemala in its first match and managing a tie against the South Africans to garner a virtually secured spot in the quarterfinals.

Wednesday's games in Reliant Stadium will determine the immediate futures of Mexico, Jamaica and South Africa in the next round's matches. The group leader and the number two squad will remain in Houston for further play and the third-place team will travel to Foxboro, Massachusetts, near Boston, for quarterfinals competition.

The Mexicans, however, are breathing a little easier with the victory over Guatemala wherein their Argentine coach, Ricardo Lavolpe, showed he could get the team going after the fiasco against South Africa.

Mexico's fans will be waiting to see if striker Jared Borgetti will be able to notch his 36th goal on Wednesday to become the top scorer in the history of the team. On Sunday, he scored his 35th to tie Carlos Hermosillo and Luis Hernandez.

Jamaica will also be pumped up when it takes the field against the Mexicans because it stands a great chance of ending the first round of play as the Group C winner, an achievement that would go far toward taking away the sting of being eliminated from the 2006 World Cup in the early qualifying round.

And the Mexicans should know that their contest against the Jamaicans will not be a pushover, despite the fact that the historical statistics show they've beaten the islanders 10 times, tied once and gone down to but one defeat.

The last occasion on which the teams faced off was at the 2003 Gold Cup, and the Mexicans left no doubt who was top dog - at least on that occasion - emerging with a 5-0 triumph.

The probable rosters for Wednesday's match are:

Mexico: Moises Muñoz, Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Salcido, Ricardo Osorio, Carlos Morales, Antonio Naelson "Zinha," Mario Mendez, Gerardo Galindo, Luis Perez, Jared Borgetti and Alberto Medina. Coach: Ricardo Lavolpe

Jamaica: Donovan Ricketts, Damion Stewart, Tyrone Marshall, Robert Scarlett, Jermaine Taylor, Tyrone Sawyers, Jermaine Johnson, Jermaine Hue, Andree Williams, Ricardo Fuller and Khari Stephenson. Coach: Wendell Downswell.

Game time: 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Houston time (0200 GMT on Thursday).