A Jamaican National Under-22 men’s unit will play their Japanese counterparts in a friendly match for the Kirin Challenge Cup at Transcosmos Stadium in Nagasaki, Japan, on December 28 .

The Jamaica squad for the game will be chosen and coached by National senior men’s team Head Coach Theodore Whitmore, who will be assisted by Merron Gordon.

The game is for players born on or after January 1, 1997, but the teams have the option for a few over-age players, if required.

In the case of Jamaica, the game will allow the national technical staff to look at potential players for the 2022 Senior World Cup qualifying campaign.

In speaking recently about the different phases of preparation in the current four-year World Cup cycle, Whitmore had stated that the period to November 2019 was the stage for talent identification and team technical identity.

He had said that the talent identification was evolutionary and “there will always be opportunities for emerging talent”.

Whitmore said: “We will need to use competitions available to test, grow and develop the players.”

This Kirin Challenge Cup, Whitmore notes, fits into the pursuit of this objective.