Bermuda go for glory tonight in a match which coach Kenny Thompson calls `a small step' towards a brighter future for soccer in the country.

The Island's under-17s take on Jamaica in what will be the biggest match of their young lives.

At stake when the two sides meet at the National Sports Centre at 9 p.m. is a place in the next phase of World Cup qualifying.

Thanks to a better goal difference Bermuda can afford to draw the match and go through, whereas for Jamaica only a win will do.

Bermuda have so far put three goals past Barbados and four past Netherlands Antilles, both without reply, and Thompson said he was proud with what his players had achieved.

"They can take pride not just from the way they have performed this week but what they have had to go through from the inception in February 1999,'' he said.

"They have been through a lot. We've made a lot of demands of them and the fact that they are still here speaks volumes about what they were prepared to sacrifice.

"Overall I'm very proud of them for making it this far. These are small steps -- small steps in a vision for me of what football should be like in Bermuda in the future.

"So whatever happens in this match against Jamaica we can look at it as small steps towards something very, very big in the future and I am talking about in five, 10 and 15 years down the line.

"We are currently sowing the seeds for what we would like to achieve in the future for football in Bermuda.'' As to be expected from a team that has played twice and won twice, confidence is high.

"The mood is good. Winning does that. Winning on Monday made for a pleasant environment at Tuesday's training sessions and winning on Wednesday made for a pleasant day on Thursday,'' Thompson said.

"But also I think there's an air of anticipation -- waiting for the showdown and I think they are generally excited about it all and looking forward to it.'' While knowing all they have to do is avoid defeat, Thompson said he would be sending his players out for the victory.

"We will play to win. It's important with respect to the game and the fans and ourselves that we should play to win, and for the opponents for that matter, we should always play to win,'' he said.

Continued on page 19 Under-17s vow to play to win Continued from page 17 Thompson added: "It's just that we know we have the option of being able to draw and advance. But we will play to win and if not we will be happily satisfied with a draw.'' Thompson said he and his assistant, North Village coach Scott Morton, had studied the Jamaicans in their previous two matches and had identified areas that he hoped the home side could turn to their advantage.

"There are always weaknesses in any opponent. They have some strengths, they are a very, very good team and we have our strengths and weaknesses too,'' he said.

"What we try to do is take full advantage of our strengths to minimise our weaknesses and then on the flip side we look at the opponent and try to take full advantage of their weaknesses and minimise their strengths.

"I have noted one or two weaknesses in the Jamaican team that we hope to exploit. But as I said before it's going to be a very difficult task because they are a very, very good team.'' The team have been staying at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess during the tournament and Thompson said this had been invaluable.

"It has been tremendous to have been together for an entire week. We can monitor what they eat and monitor relaxation time and rest and have team meetings two and three times a day to get our message across,'' he said.

"We can also have training sessions once or twice a day sometimes and manage game days -- we are not wondering if they are at home or running around the street, using up energy that they could utilise in the match.

"This whole week has been tremendous to be able to be together and get things done in a professional way.'' Those that thought he and his colleagues were enjoying the trappings of a high roller were sorely mistaken, the coach said.

"Scott (Morton) and I were actually talking about it this morning. It's not easy. Some of my colleagues at school were saying I was living the life -- getting to stay in a hotel for the week, with it being football-related and with the boys. But it's not a vacation -- it's been very difficult,'' Thompson said.

"In fact after the match on Wednesday night, Scott and I and one of our associates were up until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. in the morning talking about some problems that we faced and saw in the match and some of the problems we might expect and how we might combat them.

"Then I was up at 7 a.m in the morning preparing for the Jamaica match. So it's work, it's no holiday at all.'' As far as the starting line-up for tonight was concerned, Thompson said he wouldn't be revealing specifics, although there were likely to be one or two tactical changes.

Tonight's action at Prospect starts at 7 p.m. when the Netherlands Antilles take on Barbados.

Wing wizard: The skill and pace of Bermuda's Domico Coddington (left) is expected to pose a major threat to Jamaica tonight.