Young Boyz leave for Trinidad camp
THE UNDER-20 Reggae Boyz squad departed for Trinidad and Tobago yesterday evening for the next phase of their preparations for the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 qualifiers. The team is set to play three matches during their time at the camp.
The squad will be in camp on the Caribbean island through to February 2, where they will play the Trinidad under-20 national team twice, on January 25 and February 1, along with another friendly against a Trinidadian Pro League club on January 28.
The venues and times for the Trinidad friendlies will be finalised at a later date.
The friendlies are considered important for the squad as, according to John Wall, head coach of the Reggae Boyz under-20 team, the team needed to play more friendly matches during their camps leading up to the qualifiers.
“We’ve been doing camps from March last year. I feel pretty confident in what I’ve seen, but you can never be 100 per cent. That’s just the vision, to play as soon as we can and as much as we can. The thing that I would say is that we probably should have played a few more games last year. That is based on my reflections, like two or three more games,” Wall said.
According to a press release from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, Brian Haynes, the head coach of Trinidad’sunder-20 team, is welcoming the opportunity to play against the Jamaican unit.
“It’s going to be games against a team from the Caribbean, first of all, with the kind of play that we’re accustomed to,” said Haynes. “We are going to work hard and try to win games. I expect these matches to be well contested, so that it serves its purpose in this phase of our preparations.”
After this camp, the team will convene for a final time ahead of the qualifiers from February 14 to February 22.
The Concacaf Men’s Under-20 qualifiers are scheduled to kick off on February 23, where Jamaica have been drawn in Group F alongside Bermuda, Grenada and Martinique.
Jamaica will get into action on February 24 against Martinique as their opening game of the qualifiers. All matches in Group F will be played at the St Kitts and Nevis Football Association Technical Centre in Basseterre.
Following group play, the top team from the group will qualify for the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championships and compete for a spot in the FIFA Men’s Under-20 World Cup.