WASHINGTON DC, USA — Reggae Boyz skipper Andre Blake says he and other members of the team have opened their arms to welcome newcomer, wide attacker Leon Bailey.

The 21-year-old Bayer Leverkusen winger’s selection to the senior Jamaica team was stalled by a long-running boardroom squabble with the Jamaica Football Federation and the player’s personal manager and adopted father, Craig Butler.

But with all of that seemingly in the past, the exciting winger is now set to make his long-awaited debut for the senior Boyz when they take on the USA in a friendly international at Audi Field in Washington DC tomorrow. Game time is 7:00 pm (6:00 pm Jamaica time).

Bailey, who came to global recognition with Belgium Pro-League outfit Genk with his explosive attacking style, had previously represented the national Under-23 outfit in 2015.

“As a captain you have to lead from the front, and we have to welcome him (Bailey) and embrace him as we need to get him acclimatised as quickly as possible… we have to get him comfortable that he can perform to the best of his ability,” Blake said after lunch yesterday.

The Philadelphia Union goalkeeper and team veteran echoed the sentiments of head coach Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore, that the Jamaica senior football team seeks, at all times, to have its best players available to the country inside its survey.

“As the coach has always said, and I agree, is that we want the best players representing the country at all times… we need to realise that teamwork comes first, but with outstanding individuals you will have great team success,” noted Blake.

Meanwhile, Whitmore said “Leon Bailey is just another piece to the puzzle”.

“We welcome him as we know what he has to offer and it’s just for him to go out there and do what he does,” said the Boyz head coach.

Blake, 28, looking at the broader purpose of tomorrow’s encounter against the 24th-ranked Americans, said the match-up provides a great dress rehearsal for the start of the June 15-July 7 Concacaf Gold Cup.

“It’s a good encounter as the USA is a good team and it is always a good match-up for us as we look to the Gold Cup and the World Cup qualifiers.

“This game will also give the coach some ideas to try a few new things to see what can work matching up against a quality opponent,” he said.

In the 2017 edition of the confederation’s marquee tournament, the Boyz lost the championship match 1-2 to the USA in Santa Clara, California, missing out by a whisker once again of becoming the first Caribbean team to lift the coveted trophy. Jamaica also lost in the 2015 final 1-3 to Mexico.

Blake says the collective focus is to go one better in 2019.

“We came up short on two occasions, so yes, we definitely want to win it and I think we have a good core group of guys that, when everybody is focused and locked in, we can put up a challenge to all these teams.

“We just have to stay motivated and committed to the task at hand as I think the structure of our team means we are built for tournaments like these as we are athletic, quick up top and strong defensively,” Blake noted.

In the expanded Gold Cup, which moves from 12 to 16 teams, Concacaf has built out further the tournament to have Caribbean and Central American member nations hosting for the first time.

Jamaica, ranked 56th by Fifa, will host a Group C double-header at the National Stadium on June 17, where they face Honduras, while El Salvador face Curacao.

Costa Rica will host a Group B double-header involving Nicaragua, Haiti and Bermuda on June 16.