U17 coaches say two-match friendly among building blocks for growth

FOLLOWING the young Reggae Boyz’s recent two-match friendly against Caribbean neighbours Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) on home soil, head coach Altimont Butler shared that while the team is still in the embryonic stage, he believes that they will show strong improvement in short order.

The national under-17 team lost 1-0 to T&T last Friday but rebounded with a 2-1 victory on Sunday.

“The objective was to see how we could connect as a group. It wasn’t about the results as we are still trying to learn the characteristics of the players. It was good for me to see them in an international game, and I think we can get it together soon,” Butler stated.

Earlier this year, football’s governing body, FIFA, announced that the Under-17 World Cup will be expanded from 24 to 48 teams, starting with the 2025 staging in Qatar. According to Butler, minor tweaks will be needed before the qualifiers, which are set to start in January 2025.

“That means more spots for Concacaf, and that gives us even a greater opportunity to qualify for the next World Cup. However, in order to qualify, we have to fix a few things,” Butler added.

Assistant coach Carlton Simmonds revealed that in the coming weeks, more overseas-based players will be added to the current squad to continue with the integration and jelling process of the team. He added that during the two matches, it was a strategic move from the coaching staff to allow the players to express themselves without too many instructions.

“We will have a camp here in two weeks, and the hope is to bring in a few more players. We have to change it up a little bit and give an opportunity to other players. We did less coaching from the side because we wanted the players to react to the challenges,” he explained.

In reflecting, coach Simmonds described the two matches as a “foundation” for the youth team’s development going forward.

“It was good as the two games were a baseline or starting point for the team. We understand that Trinidad and Tobago are one of our Concacaf competitors, so this early in the season, we know where we are, and this will be the foundation for our preparation for the next few months,” Simmonds stated.

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com