Brentford’s Rico Henry gets Reggae Boyz call-up for decisive World Cup qualifiers
Brentford wingback Rico Henry is the lone new face in Steve McClaren’s 26-player squad named on Saturday for the Reggae Boyz’ two defining World Cup qualifiers against Trinidad and Tobago and Curacao.
The 28-year has been on the Jamaica Football Federation’s radar for some time and head coach McClaren believes he will be a valuable addition to the Regge Boyz set-up.
“Rico is a very good player, he’s a premier league player, and he’s had bad injuries [but] has come back and fought back, which shows the mentality of the boy, and he plays like that, with that type of mentality,” McClaren said. “This season he has not played regular but has had games… and looks very, very good, very sharp.”
However, it’s unclear whether he will be eligible to suit up for the first game against Trinidad as he still needs to acquire his Jamaican passport and obtain a change of association.
“We hope to get a passport and a change of association for the first game, if not then the second [game],” McClaren said.
On Thursday, November 13, Jamaica will travel to Trinidad and Tobago for a 7:00 pm encounter before hosting Curacao on Tuesday, November 18, inside the National Stadium.
Jamaica lead the four-team Group B with nine points from four games, just one point ahead of Curacao on eight, with Trinidad and Tobago sitting in third on five points. Bermuda are at the bottom without a point.
The Boyz have their own destiny in their hands, and a win against Curacao in the second match would be enough for a return to the FIFA World Cup after a 27-year wait, having qualified in 1998.
With that in mind, McClaren said he has no time to experiment and has named a strong and familiar squad of goalkeepers, Andre Blake, Jamali Waite, Tafari Chambers.
The defenders are Henry, Dexter Lambikisa, Joel Latibeaudiere, Ethan Pinnock, Damian Lowe, Mason Holgate, Richard King, Greg Leigh, Ian Fray and a five-man midfield including Isaac Hayden, Bobby Reid, Karoy Anderson, Jahsaun Anglin and John Russell.
The forwards are Shamar Nicholson, Rumarn Burell, Bailey-Tye Cadamateri, Demarai Gray, Ronaldo Cephas, Kaheim Dixon, Tyreece Campbell, Warner Brown and Dujuan Richards.
