Although the Reggae Boyz will be without the services of their captain and starting goalkeeper Andre Blake for the start of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying, Goalkeeper Coach Gudmundur Hreidarsson says he’s confident in the abilities of the current shot stoppers he has in the squad.

The 33-year-old Blake was ruled out of the matches against the Dominican Republic and Dominica after undergoing a surgery on his meniscus which rules him out of action for four to six weeks.

The technical staff, led by Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, has interestingly selected four goalkeepers in Blake’s absence including 19-year-old Jayden Hibbert who plays for Atlanta United’s reserve team in the United States. Jahmali Waite of El Paso Locomotive in the United Soccer League, Reading’s Coniah Boyce-Clarke and Mount Pleasant Football Academy’s Shaquan Davis also got the nod.

Despite missing Blake’s presence, Hreidarsson believes having those players will be good for their development.

“[Blake] is in his recovery phase and we all miss him so that’s why we decided to take four goalkeepers, we have a quite young goalkeeper team so I’m really happy that we can have four keepers in this camp and the Copa [America]. It’s new, we are allowed to have 26 players in the squad, so it’s good for the future and good for the moment, which is now,” he said.

He also believes it provides greater quality in the squad as they look forward to an important few weeks.

“It’s nice to have the four of them together because they’re of course learning from each other, they’re young and are in a way different but even though all four of them are goalkeepers. They have different styles, different shapes but it’s a privilege working with them because they’re so focused on the task and the coming games,” said Hreidarsson.

“They work together as a union, they are positive towards each other and that’s very important even though they’re in competition. Having four goalkeepers makes the standard high and the level is high because we always have fresh feet to do a lot of things when needed.”

Waite is the most experienced of the four with eight appearances including the Nations League third-place play-off against Panama where he kept a clean sheet in the team’s 1-0 win.

Boyce-Clarke only has one cap for the team while Hibbert and Davis have yet to make an appearance for the senior team.

The Reggae Boyz begin their journey to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico when they take on the Dominican Republic on Thursday at the National Stadium.

They will then travel to face Dominica at Windsor Park in Roseau on Sunday.

Jamaica are in Group E of second-round qualifying which also features Guatemala and the British Virgin Islands. Only the top two will advance to the final round of qualifying set for September 2025.