Antonio opts out of October qualifiers
Jamaica’s preparations for tomorrow’s crucial Concacaf World Cup qualifying match against the United States were thrown into disarray yesterday.
West Ham United striker Michail Antonio, seen by many as a key member of the Reggae Boyz squad, became the latest Englishbased player to miss out on participation in the October round of qualifiers. The round also includes Sunday’s home match game against Canada at the National Stadium and Wednesday’s away fixture to Honduras.
Antonio who was expected to join the 18-member squad in Austin, Texas, yesterday released a statement that confirmed his withdrawal from the squad citing logistical concerns regarding his travel for the games.
“Myself, West Ham United and Jamaica have all agreed that, given the logistical and travel difficulties involved at present, it is better for me to remain with the club in London at this time. I remain fully committed to Jamaica and look forward to representing my country in the future,” Antonio said.
Antonio joins Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock, Reading’s Liam Moore, and Preston North End’s Daniel Johnson as those who are unavailable for the three qualifiers, with injury concerns affecting the latter three.
The Reggae Boyz were already entering the United States game walking wounded as United
States-based striker Corey Burke was already ruled out because of injury as was Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey who was officially ruled out for three weeks because of an injury suffered two weeks ago in their 3-0 win over Everton.
Shamar Nicholson was also a doubt because of a fractured jaw but he has travelled with the team and wore a face mask in his Belgian club’s final league game before the international window.
Additions have previously been made to the squad with Cavalier goalkeeper Jeadine White and his teammate Jamoy Topey among the inclusions in the players who are currently in Austin, Texas, where the game will be played at the Q2 Stadium.
STAR Sports tried last night to get a response from the team’s management on the new developments but texts and calls to team manager Roy
Simpson went unanswered.