Despite the Unity Cup being an exhibition tournament, Reggae Boyz Head Coach Steve McClaren says it’s an important stepping stone for the team as they seek to qualify for the FIFA World Cup next year.

The national senior men’s team, who beat Trinidad and Tobago 3-2 in Tuesday’s semi-final, will take on African giants Nigeria in today’s final at the Gtech Community Stadium in London, starting at 11:00 am.

While classified as a friendly encounter, McClaren says the team have been taking the tournament quite seriously.

“We said [to the players] you’re playing for Jamaica, there’s no friendlies,” he said. “You’ve got to win every game because that’s what the fans demand, that’s what we demand and it’s what the players demand and that’s why they play the competition. We always want to win [because] it puts you in a better mood.”

Nigeria, who beat Ghana 2-1 in their semi-final on Wednesday, are expected to provide a tougher test for the Jamaicans due to the presence of European based players such as Leicester City midfielder Wilfried Ndidi, AC Milan forward Samuel Chukwueze, as well as and former Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho, now at Middlesbrough.

However, Reggae Boyz captain Amari’i Bell says the players are mentally prepared for the task ahead.

“I think when you win games, you always gain confidence,” he said. “I think we put pressure on ourselves anyways to win the first game and win the second game, so I don’t think there’s any difference in pressure in that sense because we want to win and obviously our supporters expect us to deliver a good performance and win as well. As long as we’re focused and do what we know we can, then we’ll put ourselves in a real good position to win those games.”

It will be Jamaica’s final fixture ahead of the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers next week and the Concacaf Gold Cup, which kicks off on June 16.

McClaren says the Nigeria test will be crucial in getting the team prepared for their World Cup qualifying mission.

“We’ve brought a mixed squad of experienced, young players and players who we’ve been following for quite a while and trying to recruit, [Rumarn] Burrell being an ideal candidate for that, to give them an opportunity,” he said.

“We’re going forward to the goal which is World Cup qualification and we’ve got that next week so we want one or two, hopefully three, who can become permanent members of the squad and give us the extra energy that we need. So it’s an ideal opportunity for the established ones to keep their fitness and there’s a quite a few who’ve gotten an opportunity and they need to take it.”

There have been a few additions to the squad including Arnett Gardens striker Warner Brown and Peterborough United’s Malik Mothersille who will be looking to make his debut.

It will be the seventh time Jamaica will play Nigeria. In their previous six meetings, three have been draws but Nigeria recorded wins in 2002 and 2004 with Jamaica’s lone win coming in May 2003.

Jamaica’s Amari’i Bell (right) stops a kick by Mexico’s Uriel Antuna during the first half of the Concacaf Gold Cup semi-final match in Paradise in Nevada, United States, on July 12, 2023.