Local players ready to perform in national colours
Reggae Boyz face Trinidad and Tobago in friendly today at 2 p.m. Jamaica time
THE REGGAE Boyz squad of local-based players insist they are excited to represent the country in today’s international friendly against Trinidad and Tobago. The Boyz will be taking on the twin-island nation in the first of two friendlies at the Hasely Crawford Stadium at 2 p.m. Jamaica time.
Justin Dunn, Tivoli Gardens’ main talisman this season in the Wray and Nephew-sponsored Jamaica Premier League (JPL), said it has been his dream to play for Jamaica.
Dunn has been a source of goals for the west Kingston-based club and is currently joint first in the golden boot race with Waterhouse’s Javane Bryan, both on 11 goals for the season.
Dunn said he has been enjoying his time with the national team, and feels his selection has been a result of the hard work he has been putting in this season.
“I have always dreamt of this moment and it has finally arrived and I’m very excited about the work that I’ve been putting in the Jamaica Premier League and now I am getting the chance to represent the country so it’s an achievement that I will take.
“It was a good [training session], preparing for tomorrow. The boys are very excited and we cannot wait to play the match on Friday against Trinidad. The sessions were full of intensity. The players’ willingness is there and it’s been good vibes in the camp. The boys are very excited,” Dunn said.
Portmore United’s Alex Marshall makes his first return to the national set-up since his last appearance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Today’s match will be special for Marshall who made his debut for Jamaica in 2017 against the same opponents at the same venue. Back then, Jamaica defeated the Trinidadians 2-1 in a close contest and Marshall expects today’s game to be just as intense.
“Yeah, it was a close game, a 2-1 score and it went on to the final few minutes. I made a goal-saving tackle and it was an exciting feeling and I’m still grateful for the opportunity. It’s an international game and it’s always intense playing against Trinidad so it’s a good game to see what I need to improve on so hopefully it will be a good game for me and the team.”
Marshall said the preparations have been going well for the team and said head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has inspired a lot of confidence in the squad with his coaching tactics.
“It was a good training session,” he said. “I’m still learning and adjusting to the coach’s tactics and stuff like that, but it was fun. The first few days was a lot of information but he has given us that confidence that you’re not going to learn everything at once, but to make sure while in the training sessions you’re practising and still trying to do the stuff that we learnt.”
Following today’s match, Jamaica will face Trinidad and Tobago again for their second friendly on Sunday at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima, Trinidad.
SPEAKING IN an interview before the start of the national team’s two friendly matches against Trinidad and Tobago, head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson says these games will be used as an assessment of the players’ potential to join the full-strength national team in the future.
Jamaica will f ace Trinidad and Tobago today at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, and Hallgrimsson said he intends to use the match as a chance to see the local-based players in action against international opponents.
Hallgrimsson says this is an opportunity for these players to vie for a spot in the national team for the long-term.
“The main purpose is to look at these players to see if they have the potential to be a part of the squad now or 2026 or 2030,” he said. “The main purpose is just to give them a chance to show what they can do and then we take a decision to keep on working with those players in the short term or in the long term.
“It is solely domestic-based players. We took one young goalkeeper from the United States to see as a third option, but mostly it’s looking at the players we haven’t seen in action before. It’s a very young squad that we have. We probably would have had an even younger squad if the under-20s weren’t playing at the same time and a very inexperienced squad that we have.”
According to Hallgrimsson, he is not focused on winning the games but rather, will be looking to identify players that he believes can become a part of his plans for the future.
With the matches falling outside of a FIFA international window, the games’ results will have no effect on Jamaica’s FIFA ranking.
“These are unofficial matches so they don’t affect FIFA rankings, and we can do as many changes as we like, so the importance of winning, even though we always like to win matches, the importance of winning is not for me the biggest thing. We left in Jamaica players that if winning were the most important thing, we would have selected and brought here,” the Reggae Boyz head coach said.
Despite not focused on the results, Hallgrimsson expects a competitive match because of the rivalry between both teams.
This is the fourth time in the span of a year that he will be facing Trinidad as a coach, and Hallgrímsson is well aware of the history between both nations.
“It’s always competitive. Matches against Trinidad have always been physical, and there is the rivalry. I know that there is a rivalry between the two nations, but I think both coaches are now using it as an opportunity to see fringe players and future players,” Hallgrimsson said.
After today’s match, Jamaica will face Trinidad on Sunday for their final game at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima. The match is set to kick off at 2 p.m. Jamaica time.