Hallgrímsson pleased with selection flexibility
National senior men’s football team Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson says the rules for squad selection at Copa America allowed him to take injured players for morale boosting in the dressing room.
Although Copa America is South America’s main football championship tournament, Jamaica and five other Concacaf teams qualified to participate this year, while the United States, another Concacaf team, is the host.
Unlike Concacaf’s tournaments that require a 23-man squad, Copa America allows for three more players. Hallgrímsson said while a 23-man team would have been enough, he is pleased with the flexibility allowed.
“We thought a 23-man squad is enough for Jamaica,” he said. “Of course, normally, the playing time for a few players is not much in a competition like this. So, we went for a 23-man squad and opted to have three senior players as optional players if they would be able to join, to come in from injury. And, that is how we decided to do it to select the 23-man squad.”
Hallgrímsson suggests that the three extra players are captain and goalkeeper Andre Blake, who recently had surgery on his knee, left back Amari’I Bell, who is also injured, and winger Leon Bailey, who announced his decision to take an indefinite hiatus from international football in March. Bailey, however, has since declined that invitation for Copa America.
“There are no surprises in the selection,” Hallgrímsson said. “It’s more or less the players that we have been playing in the last year and a half. A group of players that have done pretty well for Jamaica.
“To have a player like Andre Blake coming back from surgery on his knee, it would be really good for the squad if he would be in in one form or another. He’s a captain and a leader for this team and it would be nice to have him on-board if he is fully fit to play. The same, I can say about Amari’I Bell — a very experienced, good player in the squad so it would be nice if he could make the squad at some point.”
Hallgrímsson says having these players available would also be convenient if they can recover in time, should Jamaica go all the way in the competition.
“For them, it’s a long shot but we opted to put them in the squad in case we would go all the way to the end of the tournament,” he said. “So, it would be nice to have them to support the group in the end. And we thought the same about Leon Bailey if he would want to come.”
No replacement for Bailey has yet been named.
The Jamaicans are in Group B and start against Mexico in Houston, Texas on June 22 at 8:00 pm (Jamaica time). Ecuador and Venezuela are the other teams in that group.
Squad:
Goalkeepers
Shaquan Davis
Andre Blake
Coniah Boyce-Clarke
Jahmali Waite
Defenders
Dexter Lembikisa
Di’Shon Bernard
Greg Leigh
Damion Lowe
Michael Hector
Richard King
Wesley Harding
Ethan Pinnock
Jon Bell
Amari’i Bell
Midfielders
Kasey Palmer
Kevon Lambert
Bobby Reid
Alex Marshall
Joel Latibeaudiere
Karoy Anderson
Forwards
Shamar Nicholson
Renaldo Cephas
Michail Antonio
Demarai Gray
Kaheim Dixon