3 months ago
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THE REGGAE Boyz will kick off their Unity Cup campaign today when they face Caribbean archrivals Trinidad and Tobago at the Gtech Community Stadium in London, England, at 1 p.m. Jamaica time.
Their meeting will be the opening game of the Unity Cup competition, which has been revived since its last staging in 2004 at the Valley Stadium, home to English club Charlton Athletic.
The Reggae Boyz will be using the competition as preparation for the upcoming Concacaf Gold Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which are set to begin next month.
Reggae Boyz head coach Steve McClaren stated that the Unity Cup will not just be a great opportunity for the teams involved, but for their fans as well.
Jamaica last played in England in 2014, where they were held 2-2 by Egypt in an international friendly at Brisbane Road.
With over a decade since that last appearance in England, McClaren said the friendly will be an important match for the Jamaican diaspora.
“For the Jamaican supporters living in London, this is a great opportunity for them to come and see the real team,” he said.
“They have probably watched them from afar and have never seen them before, so this is an opportunity for everybody who is Jamaican and lives in London to come and watch the Jamaican team against very good opposition.”
He added: “This is going to be a tough week and a tough two games, whoever we play. But we’re excited about playing in front of our supporters who will come out.”
Jamaica will face Trinidad & Tobago for a spot in the final, where they will face either Nigeria or Ghana, depending on the result of their fixture.
KEY ABSENCES
McClaren will be fielding a squad that is missing several key names, due to player unavailability for various reasons.
He explained that Michail Antonio, Di’Shon Bernard, and Bobby Reid are absent from the squad due to injuries.
Antonio, interestingly, had trained with the team yesterday as he continues his recovery process, but is not set to feature during the Unity Cup.
Other key players such as Leon Bailey, Ethan Pinnock and Joel Latibeaudiere are absent, due to fatigue from their just-ended season.
The Reggae Boyz boss explained that these players are scheduled to return to camp for the World Cup qualifiers and Gold Cup.
In their absence, McClaren has given the nod to 10 players from the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), as well as seven new faces to the national programme.
The head coach stated that since his appointment last year, he has been learning about the JPL and has been impressed by several players in the league.
“When I look at the JPL players, the local players, I certainly think that when you look a year ago and how many players that were in the Copa squad, I think there was maybe zero, or maybe one player.
“I think because of the local camps, 10 JPL players were in the St Vincent squad, and now there are [several] in the Unity squad,” he continued.
“In the months that I’ve been on the job, I am learning about the culture; I’m learning about how Jamaica works, how the JFF works.”
Another interesting inclusion for McClaren’s squad has been the late call-up of midfielder Ravel Morrison.
While there has been several calls from Reggae Boyz fans to bring Morrison back into the fold, McClaren had stated in a recent press conference that the player was not being considered due to him playing in the United Arab Emirates’ third division.
“This is not about the past. We are living in the now and moving forward. So when I look around at the players, the first thing I check is what league they are playing in and what the quality of football is like in that league.
“So that standard dictates where that player is at in the present moment, and Ravel is not where we want him to be at the present moment,” McClaren said then.
However, in a matter of days, the coach has seemingly changed his perspective, as the midfielder was called up and started training with the squad for the Unity Cup yesterday.
His presence will be seen as a boost for Jamaica’s creative prowess as they take on the Soca Warriors.
It will be the third meeting this year between the two nations following their international friendlies in February.
Jamaica won the first of the two meetings 1-0 through a late winner from Sue-Lae McCalla, and drew the second game 1-1.
English (US) ·