NEWARK, New Jersey — The Reggae Boyz were Saturday night assembling their full squad at the Marriott Hotels and Resorts at the Newark Liberty International Airport ahead of Monday’s start of a high-quality four-game friendly international series against Serbia at the Red Bulls Arena at 4:00 pm.

Saturday evening, goalkeepers Dwayne Miller and Andre Blake were the first to join the nine players who departed Jamaica earlier in the morning. Lloyd Doyley, Christopher Humphrey, Michael Seaton, Joel Grant, Deshorn Brown, and Darren Mattocks were expected in later, while debutante Simon Dawkins is expected to be the last player in Sunday morning, as uncertainty still surrounded MLS players Je-Vaughn Watson and Alvas Powell.

Having travelled for the better part of Saturday, the players in camp were taken on a walk-about to stretch their legs.

On Sunday they will have their only meaningful practice session at the Red Bulls Arena training centre at 3:00 pm.

Head coach Winfried Schaefer had identified Monday’s opening game as the most problematic, having been unable to assemble most of the players he desired, due to the fact that these games were arranged outside of the FIFA window, and the MLS and Scandinavia clubs are not obliged to release players.

As a result he had to be chopping and changing players repeatedly, and even at the 11th hour, clubs have reneged on their agreement to release players for these games.

After Monday’s opener, the Boyz travel to Switzerland to face that World Cup bound country in Luzern on May 30, before skipping over to London for a June 4 engagement with Egypt.

The Boyz will then close out the series against 1998 World Cup champions France in Lille on June 8.

Players already assembled in Newark are Upston Edwards, Kemar Lawrence, Nicholas Beckett, Romario Campbell, Hughan Gray, Nicholy Finlayson, Jacomeno Barrett, Rodolph Austin, John-Ros Edwards, Dwayne Miller and Andre Blake.

Ian Burnett