Jamaica’s national senior team, the Reggae Boyz, will on October 7 play the national team of Saudi Arabia.

The game will be played at the King Fahd International Stadium, also called Pearl of Stadiums, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia have already qualified for 2018 FIFA World Cup joining Iran, Japan and Republic of Korea as the Asian representatives in Russia. Saudi Arabia finished second in their Group behind Japan. Saudi Arabia qualified in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006 for the FIFA World Cup, missing out of the 2010 and 2014 editions in South Africa and Brazil, respectively.

Saudi Arabia have played 18 World Cup qualifying games, winning 12, drawing three, and losing three to Japan 1-2 away, Australia 2-3 away and the United Arab Emirates 1-2 away. Their biggest triumph was a 10-0 hamering of East Timor in that country.

President of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Michael Ricketts, in signing off on the game stated “this is an indication of our intent to continue seeking high-quality international friendly games for the senior team. This level of opposition provides an opportunity for the players and technical team to continue the rebuilding of a successful Reggae Boyz team”.

National senior team coach Theodore Whitmore, who is still out of a contract with the JFF, also welcomed the game, stating: “I anticipate a highly competitive fixture which is excellent for our plans moving forward.”

The Reggae Boyz have played Saudi Arabia three times, winning one, losing one and drawing the other. They first met on May 4, 1998 in France when the game ended 0-0. Then on July 13, 1999, Jamaica edged the Middle Eastern, oil-rich nation 2-1, before losing 0-4 two days later, also in the United States.

The game will be played during a FIFA window, and the Jamaican squad will be announced in the course of this week, the JFF has stated.