Union goalie Andre Blake faces a tall task in Jamaica's two
World Cup qualifiers next week. (AP)

The mandate for Jamaica and Andre Blake leaves no room for error. If the Reggae Boyz can’t return from Panama City Sept. 2 with some kind of result, their hopes of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup will be dashed with two barren years to go.

That’s the understanding Blake carries as he departs next week for the final two fixtures of the fourth round of CONCACAF qualifying.

“It’s big games,” Blake said Friday after Philadelphia Union training. “I think the guys have been in this situation before. I don’t know what the result’s going to be, but I know for sure when it comes down to these situations, the guys go out and give their best. So hopefully their best will be good enough.”

Jamaica is up against it. It sits third in four-team Group B with four points from four games. It finishes the six-game round robin Sept. 6 with a winnable game at home against bottom-dwellers Haiti. But that could be academic if it can’t eke out at least a draw against second place Panama (2-1-1, 7 points) in the opener.

Only the top two in each of the three groups advance to the fifth round of qualifying, the Hexagonal. Costa Rica leads Group B with 10 points. Read more »