LYON, France — With the loss in the warm-up game against Scotland and off-field obligations in England now behind them, Hue Menzies and his Reggae Girlz have switched into game mode as they arrived here ahead of the start to the Fifa Women’s World Cup.

The team went straight to work with fitness coach Will Hitzelberger and physical trainer Jason Henry shortly after docking at the Hotel Parkest here in Lyon, the capital city in France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, for a pre-tournament camp.

Menzies pointed out that their preparations will intensify over the next few days as they set their sights on the June 9 encounter against Brazil at Stade des Alpes in Grenoble.

“We are going to start getting down to business. We are trying to get a scrimmage game on the third (June 3), we still have another off-field obligation we have to take care of with UNESCO in Paris, but we are trying to get a little game so we can get into a rhythm.

“If we don’t get a game then we will just do a squad match and start focusing on Brazil. Sandford [Corbin] and [Hubert] Busby have been chopping up all the tapes and working on that all day yesterday (Thursday) with the new Fifa system that we have, so we are just going to start preparing for the first game,” Menzies told the Jamaica Observer.

While cognisant that they have to give sponsors and supporters their due, Menzies believes the scheduling for some off-field obligations can be a bit of a distraction.

During their time in London, Menzies and his team was unable to conduct a training session due to the schedule and transit time from Hallmark Hotel to the city.

“We understand that we have some reciprocating to do because, obviously, we have sponsors, but I think the [Jamaica Football] Federation needs to sit down with us a little bit and work out the schedule, because it is a bit of a distraction. We understand that we have to reciprocate, but at the same time we end up missing two, three days of training because of obligations — and I am sure the sponsors would understand.

“But we completed some of those and obviously the players appreciate what the sponsors and others are doing for them, so we just need to start focusing on Brazil now,” Menzies reasoned.

And with the official start of the World Cup now seven days away, the tactician welcomed the positive feedback from the players ahead of their historic debut in the global showpiece. The World Cup is scheduled for June 7- July 7.

Following their opening game, the Girlz will then travel to Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims on June 14 for battle against Italy, before concluding the group phase on June 18 against highly ranked Australia in Grenoble.

“I know the players are eager to get back on the field because some of them came to us and ask about getting a workout in — so they want to get back to business because that’s what they are here to do” Menzies noted.

“So we are going to do what we always do — evaluate the opponents and see where we can exploit their weaknesses. Brazil is a team that can be a little bit careless and susceptible to counter-attacks. But they are a talented and technical team and they have Marta, one of the best players in the world that can change a game at any time; so we know we have our hands full and work to do so hopefully we can get a result against them,” he ended.

— Sherdon Cowan