At home in Rome

Ruben Mendes is swarmed by his teammates following his wondergoal against Bavaria Picture: LAZIO LND

JERSEY captain James Quérée admits it took his side time to overcome feelings of ‘awe’ at the Uefa Regions Cup – before they beat Germany in Rome.

Martin Cassidy’s men were moments away from tomorrow’s fixture with Macedonia’s Del Nord becoming a dead rubber, but Jay Giles’ late heroics against Bavaria – a last-minute winner from a free-kick – has left them with a strong chance of progressing beyond this intermediary round.

The JFA Combination side, who are wearing full England colours in Italy, find themselves one point behind the hosts, who handed them an early defeat.

‘I think wearing the England gear and representing them, probably left us a little in awe of the opportunity to be here.

‘The chance to become the first England team to qualify is huge and maybe that was in the back of our minds against Lazio.

‘To be in a position where we can still progress is all we could ask for after the first match.’

Despite the quartet of teams brushing shoulders during mealtimes at the tournament hotel, the Caesareans have kept very much to themselves.

‘We are a close-knit group,’ said Quérée.

‘It’s certainly very much been a focused approach from us to look after ourselves and not worry about the other sides too much.

‘Unlike the other teams, we have the benefit of having grown up together through the JFA Combination leagues and into the national side and I think it gives us a big advantage over our opponents.

‘Collectively we get on really well, from the youngsters through to the veterans, which is reflected on the pitch in the way we fight for each other.’

The Islanders must beat the North Macedonia representatives tomorrow and hope for a favourable result in the Lazio vs Bavaria tie.

It is understood that head-to-head record will take precedence over goal difference in the event of a tie, meaning a Jersey win combined with a Bavarian draw will be enough to send Quérée and Co into next year’s finals.

However, if Italy win, they will progress, regardless of Jersey’s result.

Quérée said: ‘We have so much energy in the camp after the last game that we just want to play the fixture straight away.

‘But having this time to recover is key and as much as we are delighted to have a chance, the job is far from over.

‘It’s out of our hands, so we just need to ensure we do the job in our match and then hope things go our way in the other game.’

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