Reggae Boyz Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson says he has scouted Honduras well and is prepared for whatever they may set up in their Concacaf Nations League game on Friday evening at the National Stadium.

This evening’s game kicks off at 8:10 pm.

It is Hallgrímsson’s first competitive home game since he took the job just under a year ago, as it is for a number of the players, and he says there are many things to look forward to in the match. Despite Honduras being 21 places behind Jamaica at 79th in the FIFA World Ranking, he considers them strong opponents.

“If we focus on Honduras, they’re a physical team, a good possession team,” Hallgrímsson said in a press conference on Thursday. “We watched their matches and analysed them in the Gold Cup so we know their players, their capabilities, their strengths.”

Reinaldo Rueda was reappointed Honduras’ head coach in July, having previously led them from 2007 to 2010, stepping down after criticisms regarding their performance at the FIFA World Cup that year. He is familiar with facing Jamaica and the atmosphere awaiting him at the National Stadium. Hallgrímsson describes him as an experienced coach.

“He knows the players from the past and we’ll see,” he said. “From what we have analysed of them in the past, some changes will happen, of course. So, we think we are prepared for what is coming but we will have to take it and see what changes he will throw and do against us.”

Although Hallgrímsson is wary of Honduras and will tailor his tactics towards nullifying their threat, he is also focusing on tactical adjustments needed to improve on performances which saw them eliminated from the Gold Cup at the semi-final stage last summer.

“It’s more like what we need but of course, it needs to match what they represent,” he said. “So, we were in general happier, like I said before the squad was announced. We talked about a couple of things that we need to improve from the Gold Cup, going forward, and we really touched on playing against Honduras, especially. We need to put some emphasis on some details of defending but mostly attacking. I’m not going to tell you what that is, but we will tweak some things from the Gold Cup that we need to improve and we expect will be effective against them.”

There are some changes to the squad which was named earlier this week. Captain and goalkeeper Andre Blake has been left out because of flu symptoms shown and, as a precaution, is replaced by Kemar Foster.

Right back Dexter Lembikisa pulled out of the squad with what is said to be a bone bruise. Hallgrímsson says Javain Brown was quick to make himself available in his absence and Tayvon Gray, of the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer, has also been called up and will be hoping to make his debut. He previously represented the United States of America (USA) at the Under-17 level.

Striker Michail Antonio did not travel for the game, citing personal reasons. Hallgrímsson says that situation is unavoidable but there is a possibility he could join the squad for the following game against Haiti on Tuesday.

Renaldo Cephas, who just transferred to Turkish Super Liga side Ankaragücü, and fellow winger Demarai Gray, who just transferred from English Premier League team Everton to Saudi Pro League Al Ettifaq, are available.

“Both of them were doing transfers to new clubs,” Hallgrímsson said. “So, again, the September window closing is a tough time for football players and national teams. We’re happy that they have new clubs and we’re happy they will get playing time. It’s good for Jamaica and we’re happy that they were willing to come, even though it’s a lot for them.

“Preparation has gone according to what we could have. We’re still getting in the players at the last minute. It’s not an ideal thing but we’ve done the best out of the situation. So, we’re pretty okay. A few days of travelling takes out one preparation day from us. So, we’ve had two good training session days with meetings but we’re getting the last players in now.”

Rueda’s starting 11 may bring surprises for Jamaica with their main right back Kevin Álvarez and striker Yeison Mejía both out with injuries. Rueda also excluded defender Marcelo Pereira and midfielder José Pinto from his selection to the surprise of Honduras’ followers. But their star striker Bryan Acosta, who has 62 international appearances, is expected to start and pose problems for the Jamaican backline.

The new Nations League format has been received with confusion by fans and coaches alike, including Hallgrímsson. League A now moves from 12 to 16 teams and features a quarter-final round, instead of a semi-final immediately after the group stage.

Groups A and B are made up of the 12 lower-ranked teams in Concacaf as of March this year, with Jamaica joined in Group B also by Cuba, Suriname, and Grenada. Group A consists of Panama, Curaçao, Guatemala, El Salvador, Martinique, and Trinidad and Tobago. The USA, Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica (ranked in that order in Concacaf) have all received byes to the quarter-final.