With Gold Cup over, Andre Blake returns to Union

Even though Union goalkeeper Andre Blake didn't play for Jamaica at the Gold Cup, he made it clear after Sunday's final that he learned a lot from the experience of being part of the team.

"I think I've become a better goalkeeper," he said as a cluster of reporters gathered around him at Lincoln Financial Field. "It's just a great experience, something I'm looking forward to taking back to my club."

Jamaica's run to the final made them the darlings of CONCACAF, even as Mexico delivered a 3-1 trouncing at the Linc. Blake said he and his teammates are taking only positives away from the tournament.

"Obviously we wanted to win, so we are a bit disappointed, but at the end of the day we made a good run," he said. "We are going to keep our heads high and know that it's [on to] the next one."

That "next one" comes later this year, when qualifying starts for the 2018 World Cup. Blake said reaching Russia is "definitely" Jamaica's goal. Given how the Reggae Boyz played in the Gold Cup, there's every reason to think they can make it back to soccer's biggest stage for the first time since their famous debut in 1998.

"We're building a very good group," Blake said. "The guys all believe in themselves and we're starting to show people that we can actually great play soccer, so we've just got to keep going and keep pushing and keep the group together… A lot of people did not expect us to do what we have done - pretty much only we believed in [ourselves] at one point."

Now Blake returns to the Union, and is hoping to finally get on the field having not played at all so far this year. After dealing with a knee injury and subsequent surgery early in the season, Blake said he's now "feeling great" and is ready to push for playing time.

"Going back to the Union, I'm really looking forward to getting some minutes,' he said. "I've earned a lot of experience here [at the Gold Cup], so I just want to take that back and help the team as much as possible."