Girlz ready to make the most of Costa Rica opportunity
NATIONAL SENIOR women’s Head Coach Hubert Busby Jr says, despite not being able to play in last month’s international window, the Reggae Girlz are determined to make the most of every opportunity to accelerate their preparations for the Women’s World Cup qualifers
Four months after their last international friendly in June, the Reggae Girlz will return to action against Costa Rica on October 24 at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The match represents the final international assignment that Busby Jr will have to evaluate the team before next month’s Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign, which starts against Bermuda.
Unlike other nations who managed to get playing opportunities i n last month’s international window, Jamaica have been idle since playing against Nigeria and world champions the United States in June.
While acknowledging the disappointment of not being able to get a match in the last window, Busby Jr says that they will not let the setback define the team’s ambition.
LARGER SQUAD
“All we can do is effect what is in front of us and that is the most important thing. We are grateful for this opportunity and we are going to make the best and the most of this opportunity. We will have a little bit of a larger squad and, hopefully, all the players are available and are able to travel,” Busby Jr told The Sunday Gleaner.
One of the those players that Busby Jr will be looking to bring over to the United States will be national striker Khadija Shaw, who has not played an international game since February 2020.
Shaw was initially invited for the games in June but was granted permission to skip the camp as she finalised her deal with her new club Manchester City and needed rest after her season in France.
Busby Jr says that all the eligible players will still be in contention to be a part of the main squad for the qualifers, regardless of who is called up in this window.
“We are going to obviously look to invite her (Shaw) into this camp. We definitely missed her in the last one, as well as looking to invite some other players who weren’t able to make the last camp. Everyone in this camp, as well as some who won’t be in this camp; everybody is in contention for November,” Busby Jr said.
“Up until that list goes in, everybody who is eligible to play and everybody who has been a part of the programme over the last four years is still in contention for (the qualifers).”
Regardless of who ends up being a part of Reggae Girlz’s journey towards Australia and New Zealand in 2023, they will have to begin without defender Deneisha Blackwood, whose knee injury in August ruled her out for the National Women’s Soccer League season and will rule her out for the start of the qualifiers.