With the 2020 season lined up to be a fairly busy one for Jamaica’s senior Reggae Boyz, local-based players are set to impress the coaching staff for possible inclusion in the squad, particularly for the World Cup qualifiers.

Though their appearance at the second edition of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President’s Football Veterans’ Fund-raiser was for a worthy cause, the players were intent on making the most of the opportunity to showcase their skills, and by all indications, they left a lasting impression.

The Reggae Boyz Invitational squad, which included overseas-based Alvas Powell, came from behind to edge the Premier League All-Star outfit 2-1 in a fairly entertaining contest at York Oval in St Thomas on Wednesday.

Kemal Malcolm and Fabian Reid, both of Arnett Gardens, got goals for the Reggae Boyz team, after Tivoli Gardens’ Jabeur Johnson, formerly of Arnett Gardens, put the All-Stars ahead.

The outing was aimed at generating more funds for the JFF’s Veterans’ Welfare Programme, which is meant to aid past national players and other football stalwarts who have fallen on hard times and Reggae Boyz Manager Roy Simpson lauded the positive intent of the players.

“What we tell the players, once you put on the national colours, it means you’re representing the national team, and the way they played this afternoon, they really showed that they understood what we’re trying to do. Though it’s a charity game, we want players to understand that every game you play, you must come with your ‘A’ game, and I think the team understood that and displayed that this evening,” Simpson told the Jamaica Observer.

Simpson encouraged the players to remain in the same frame of mind upon return to their respective clubs in the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL), as members of the Theodore Whitmore-led technical staff are always scouting.

“Absolutely I like to win and we did, but I think the players they played well and if you notice the game was not as physical as they play in the Premier League. So they understand that fluency is important and I think it’s a good look. Hopefully, they can bring that back into the Premier League at the back end of the season and eventually get into the wider [Reggae Boyz] pool,” Simpson reasoned.

“If you looked at the team, we selected players, who already made their senior debut, most of them. So during the Nations League, you didn’t see a lot of them but what we want to do, now that we are preparing for the World Cup qualifiers, is widen the pool and we want to give everybody an opportunity to showcase themselves to be recalled, so it is really left to the players to put in the work in that regard,” he added.

Looking ahead, both Simpson and assistant coach Jerome Waite, who was also on hand, are optimistic about the prospects for this year, as they are expected to utilise the Fifa windows in March and June to engage practice games, prior to the qualifiers.

Jamaica’s Fifa World Cup qualifying campaign is set to begin in September with two games, followed by two games in October and November, respectively.

By virtue of the Reggae Boyz’s stellar performance in the Concacaf Nations League (CNL), Jamaica are ranked fourth in the confederation’s hexagonal and 48th in the Fifa World Rankings.

Mexico, United States, and Costa Rica – ranked 11th, 22nd and 46th in the world, respectively – are Concacaf’s top three nations.

Simpson believes that with adequate planning and execution during the Fifa windows, the country can maintain its position heading into the qualifiers.

“This year is going to be a very busy and serious year because we start the World Cup qualifiers in September, so everything that we do is going to feed into the World Cup qualifiers.

“I’m kind of concerned because you know the next window is in March and after that, the other window will be in June. So what we do during those dormant months will be significant in ensuring that we really will maintain our position in

Concacaf and also ensure continuous preparation for the team,” the manager concluded.