National senior men’s football team Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson says although he is satisfied with the 0-0 draw against Guatemala on Saturday, the game was a hindrance as they prepare to face Canada.

Jamaica’s game against Guatemala was an international friendly game that took place outside of the FIFA international games window as the major leagues around the world had fixtures on the same day. It meant Hallgrímsson had to select less frequently used players and use the game to assess whether they could make the squad for the two Concacaf Nations League quarter-final games against Canada, with the first taking place this Friday.

It was an open and even game at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey, where both teams created a number of chances but none threatening enough to take the lead or a win. But Hallgrímsson, although saying ahead of the match on Friday that winning is important, said after that he was satisfied with the team’s effort, given the circumstances, as the game got in the way of preparation for Canada.

“The decision to play this game was not by the coaching staff, nor was the decision to play this game,” Hallgrímsson said after the game. “That decision was taken from the federation, more than from us.

“Considering the importance of the Canada matches, I think this was a focused distraction for us, the staff, the coaches when we should be focusing fully on these two important Canada matches. It was not our favourite to play this game at this time, but then again, when we go again in January, we know a little bit more about these players. It’s a good thing that we did it, even though I think when we have important matches we should put full focus on those instead.”

Hallgrímsson’s plan for January is to convene another training camp comprising local-based players. This is to prepare for FIFA World Cup qualifying, which starts in March.

“We have planned the year, and we want to spend January focusing on these players — the fringe players, the young players, the domestic players,” he said. “It’s kind of unfair as well when players are trying to prove a point in the national team to only give them two trainings and one match. You want to spend more time on the pitch and give them all playing time when you are looking at players and giving them a chance.”

While critics of Hallgrímsson say he has not given enough opportunity to those “fringe” players, especially the ones playing in the Jamaica Premier League, he has used international friendly matches after these camps to assess the usefulness of these players to his plans in competitive games.

Jamaica played two such games against Trinidad and Tobago in March, with the first ending in a 1-0 loss and the other a 0-0 draw.

Then there were games against Qatar and Jordan in June. Jamaica lost both of those games 2-1.

Based on those results, it could be argued that the players have been given the chance to showcase themselves but have not made the most of the opportunities. But Hallgrímsson disagrees, saying the players have shown character each time they played, including at the weekend.

“It was good to get to know them,” he said. “There are some really good characters and good guys in general. So we know more about them and that is a good thing.

“Too many people are preoccupied with where the players come from. For me, it’s all Jamaican national team players. I don’t care where they come from when we select the team. They can come from Jamaica, most of these players today were playing in the United States in the USL [United Soccer League] or MLS [Major League Soccer]. January is where we focus on the domestic players. This game was more or less to look at the players playing in the US. So we prioritise. We also wanted to spend as little money as we could on this game, so we wanted to pick players from close to this arena or in the US, not to force players from England or somewhere else to travel.”

Hallgrímsson says some games are about experimentation while the more competitive ones require wins, but says he has no trouble balancing these fixtures in his preparation.

Jamaica faces Canada in the first leg of the Nations League qualifier at the National Stadium in Kingston on Friday at 7:00 pm.