Head Andrew Edwards has bravely, and perhaps justifiably, included five relatively untested players at this competitive level in his 20-man squad for the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship, which kicks off this Friday in Panama City.

They are defenders Akeem Mullings (Vauxhall High School), Richard Thompson (Herbert Morrison High), Shane Ricketts (Little London High), midfielder Jermaine Lyons (Denham Town High) and striker Ricardo McIntosh.

A number of regulars, who figured in the two phases of the Caribbean play-offs in the US Virgin Islands and Trinidad and Tobago last year, could not secure a place in the final squad.

Most notable absentees are defender Nickashe Murray and midfielders Jordan Peterkin, Chad Letts and Omar Thompson.

Five US-based players — midfielders Jeremy Verley, Blake White and Coby Atkinson, and defenders Kendall Edwards and Damani Osei — have retained their places in the squad.

“The squad is a very interesting mix of players as we have five players based in the Diaspora and all of them would have been part of the team from the first round of qualifiers in the US Virgin Islands and also the Caribbean championship in Trinidad, so they are well-seasoned players in the team.

“On the other side, we have brought in five players who have not represented us at this level before. Three of them were part of the Under-15 team two years ago, so we have two of those players who have never represented the country in international competition at any level, but I think they are acquitting themselves very well,” Edwards told the

Jamaica Observer on Monday.

Having the players in a full- scale camp for some 12 weeks would have given the coach ample opportunity to see the players in various preparation conditions, thus his decision to cut and to introduce players would be expected to come from a very informed position.

“Of the five new players, we anticipate that no less than three of them will make the starting 11 come April 23,” Edwards said, expressing confidence that the selection of the five was done against the background on sound judgement.

The Jamaica Under-17 Reggae Boyz coach said cutting players from a team is sometimes never easy, and a few of them who have lost their places in the current exercise have not taken it with a light heart.

“The degree of disappointment varies from player to player, and I think that has to do a lot with their own expectation and the kind of effort that they put in, and their own capabilities in assessing the situation.

“Based on what I have gleaned so far, only two players have shown extreme disappointment. In fact, I am still trying to reach one of those players through his grandmother, but I am hoping to get through to her soon and we will try to work on that situation,” Edwards said.

In the final lap of their home preparation before departing the island on Friday, the Young Boyz had scheduled three simulation games, in essence to mimic as closely as possible the match conditions of their three Group C games against the USA, El Salvador and Mexico, in that order.

But the final game slated for this week was cancelled to give players “time to cover from knocks” they received during the other two encounters against Rae Town Under-20s and a Phoenix Academy All-Star Under-20 team.

In matches which were thought to have brought mixed benefits, the Young Boyz defeated the Rae Town outfit 3-1 last Thursday at Stadium East, while they blew away the Phoenix contingent 7-0 at the JFF Technical Centre in Mona.

“The games, to be honest, were not as competitive as we would have liked but despite that, I think they unveiled realities as we go forward. The games provided us with the opportunity to test some combinations, to try some things we have been doing in practice.

“I thought from that perspective, especially from the second game, we could be largely satisfied in team of what we did on the park and not in terms of the scoreline, but our performance individually, in small groups and as a team,” Edwards shared.

The coach was particularly disappointed with the delivery of the Boyz in the first match-up, and he has said so.

“As for the first game, I was woefully disappointed with the performance… yes we won the game but the performance left a lot to be desired, barring one or two players.

“The good thing is that it showed up some things in terms of combinations and how the players responded to situations. For example, in the first game we conceded a goal and they (Young Boyz) came back storming…once the opponent brought some fight to them they responded quite well, and that was very good,” he said.

Edwards conceded that in the real-match situations, he would still prefer to play badly and win, but insists the players are not prepared for that anomaly.

“In the real competition, the quality of the performance matters little if you get the result, but the truth is we want to see our boys play with a level of consistency and deliberate in the way they execute what we do in training. By and large, I think we are very close to that and I am quietly confident that we will be surprising the USA team,” he noted.

The Jamaicans will open against USA on Sunday then take on El Salvador next Wednesday, and finish the preliminary phase against Mexico three days later.

The top-two teams from each of the three zones will progress to the Classification Stage, where the teams will be split into two groups of three. The top-four finishers of these play-offs advance to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in India October 6-28.

Squad — Goalkeepers: Daniel Russell (Manchester High School), Tajay Griffiths (Wolmer’s Boys’); defenders: Jamoi Topey (Camperdown High), Kimani Gibbons (St Jago High), Akeem Mullings (Vauxhall High), Richard Thompson (Herbert Morrison Technical), Casseam Priestley (Kingston College), Calwayne Allen (St James High), Shane Ricketts (Little London High), Damani Osei (Cosby High School, USA), Kendall Edwards (Parkview High, USA); midfielders: Kaheem Parris (Dinthill Technical), Coby Atkinson (Beaverton High, USA), Renato Campbell (Kingston College), Blake White (Atlanta, USA), Jeremy Verley (Milton Academy, USA), Jermaine Lyons (Denham Town High); forwards: Raewin Senior (Excelsior High), Nicque Daley (Clarendon College), Ricardo McIntosh (Clarendon College).