So it is that Bermuda enter tonight's Under-17 World Cup clash against Netherlands Antilles knowing that victory will place them firmly in the driver's seat as they look to qualify for the next round.

Monday's 3-0 victory over Barbados launched the Island into the top spot after the first of three matches, however coach Kenny Thompson and his troops are yet aware that they did not produce their best showing, and that improvements are necessary.

"The main thing that we want to improve on is the possession,'' said Thompson yesterday from the team's base at the Fairmount Princess Hotel. "We made a lot of mistakes when in possession of the ball, in technical areas with ball control, and also positional areas, so we're looking to improve that.

"We have to respect the Netherlands Antilles and, as such, we will not be complacent, we will approach the match then same way that we approached the Barbados match, which was to play as well as we can, with the right mental spirit to be able to fight through difficult problems.

"I think our boys are motivated to do a little better against the Netherlands Antilles.

"An observation for us was that the team did not perform as consistently as we would have liked, however, in football the opponent has their moments too, and that's always, no matter what level. When two teams are somewhat evenly matched you can expect the opponents to have a fair share of possession and their share of chances as well.'' A potential hurdle for the local team would appear to be that of the greater physical stature of tonight's opponents, with the young men from the Dutch-speaking nation bigger and possibly stronger.

Thompson noted the key to combating such opposition to be the ability to be more crisp in passing and movement on and off the ball, something which was only evident in flashes against Barbados.

"Our players have to be ready for a physical confrontation, however, with a good circulation and ball speed, hopefully we can outplay the potential aggressive play before it gets aggressive, before it gets physical,'' said Thompson, who has potential injury worries with the likes of front-man Takeyhi Walker (ankle) and defender Jonathan Ball (hip).

Meanwhile, the tournament's other unbeaten side, Jamaica, also seek to produce a better product when they tackle Barbados in tonight's opening contest.

Severely -- perhaps surprisingly -- tested by the Netherlands Antilles, as well as the `Arctic Blast', the young version of the Reggae Boyz are anxious to add another scalp to the collection.

"Apart from the weather -- which is our biggest problem -- we'll have to make some adjustments,'' said Jackie Walters of the Jamaican delegation.

"The players are going to realise that in order for us to succeed we're going to have to make the best out of such conditions. Although we didn't perform as we know we can the other night, we'll come in tomorrow night more determined to give a better performance.

"I think we will be able to play our game much more against Barbados, our natural kind of game and not have in the back of our minds the physical approach by the Netherlands ... things look good for us at this time.'' Fan-power can boost Bermuda -- Page 21