The Reggae Boyz will go into this month’s crucial FIFA World Cup play-offs without several of their regular stars, and one Premier League-winning coach believes it’s a risky move from interim Head Coach Rudolph Speid.

The national senior men’s team will head to Mexico next week as they look to secure a spot at this summer’s World Cup by beating New Caledonia of Oceania and DR Congo of Africa in the inter-confederation play-offs.

Speid, who was appointed for this assignment last November, is set to reveal his squad on Friday during a press conference at the Jamaica Football Federation office in New Kingston.

However, the Jamaica Observer has learnt that six players who were part of the Concacaf World Cup Qualifying campaign will be left out, including the country’s leading goalscorer Shamar Nicholson.

Striker Nicholson along with Leicester City winger Dujuan “Whisper” Richards, Charlton Athletic forward Kaheim Dixon, Wolverhampton Wanderers right back Dexter Lembikisa, and Mansfield Town midfielder Jon Russell are all expected to be omitted from the squad.

As revealed by the Observer last Saturday, striker Michail Antonio will also be left out despite making his club return in the Qatar Stars League last week.

It’s understood that the players don’t meet the selection criteria implemented by Speid in January.

Former Harbour View FC Head Coach Ludlow Bernard, who won the Jamaica Premier League in 2022, believes performance for the national team should outweigh the set criteria, pointing to the displays of Nicholson, Dixon and Richards during the qualifiers. However, Bernard says that Speid’s playing philosophy could influence the squad selection, though admitting that leaving them out would be a gamble.

“Maybe a player like Nicholson probably is not going to suit what he wants, but then at the same time, where the centre forward position is concerned, I don’t think we are gifted with a number of options, so we have to be very careful with people like Nicholson, Richards and Dixon,” he told the Observer.

“So it all comes down to probably Coach Speid’s tactics that he’ll be employing and he’s looking for the personnel to really fit in. But of course, it is going to cause some amount of consternation when news like this gets out to the public about the various omissions, so you have to have some very credible options.”

While the Observer hasn’t obtained the full squad, it’s understood that Coventry City star Ephron Mason-Clark, Sheffield United winger Andre Brooks and Tottenham academy prospect Tyrese Hall will be the newcomers in the squad, after receiving their Jamaican passports.

Twenty-six-year-old winger Mason-Clark is on the verge of Premier League promotion, with his seven goals and seven assists helping to lift Coventry to the top of the English Championship table.

Also in the championship, 22-year-old Brooks currently has five goals and three assists for Sheffield United, who are currently 15th, while 20-year-old midfielder Hall, who has been scouted by the Jamaica Football Federation for over a year, is currently on loan at English League Two club Notts County where he’s registered five goals and two assists in 28 games.

While not discrediting the trio’s talent, Bernard says it will be difficult for them to make an immediate impact given the limited time and the magnitude of the occasion.

“It’s not like you’re playing in a tournament where you can afford to lose a game or draw a game — you have to win. So you have to be prepared to select a squad that is very flexible in this kind of circumstance,” he said.

“And introducing very brand-new players into this is a risk. I’ve seen whereby that has backfired against us. [The] left-back from Brentford [Rico Henry], he came on in one of the games and never looked the part and I’m sure that he can play but number one, he doesn’t know Eternal Father and secondly, he’s probably not familiar with the players around him so therein lies the risk.”

Bernard, though, believes Speid’s credentials could go a long way in mitigating the risks, especially in a two-game format.

“Speid has won the Premier League last two seasons. How has he won them? On penalty shootouts and he has won all of them being very pragmatic in his approach and very defensive,” he said. “And that’s why I said it may come down to a situation as to how he’s going to approach the game. Him approaching the game in a defensive mode is not surprising because that is his nature. If you look at his teams and look at how they line up, he’s heavy on defence and strong on counter.”

He added, “I’m certainly not envious of him being in that position at all, but clearly, one of the things that probably I would expect him to be doing is to be consulting a lot with the current players because I think it is important that he gets some kind of a feedback from his immediate surrounding coaching staff and also include the opinions of my senior-most players in this kind of situation because I think it’s going to be all hands on deck when dealing with this particular kind of situation.

“It even has to go as far as to have an 11 in your head and what are the possible replacements depending on the circumstances of the respective games, which means that you have to be very specific as to who you want for the execution of the particular tactic that you want to employ.”

Jamaica winger Dujuan Richards (left) is not expected to be named in Jamaica’s team to the FIFA World Cup play-offs. He is seen here taking on Curacao defender Sherel Floranus during the Concacaf World Cup Qualifier at the National Stadium on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Coventry City’s forward Ephron Mason-Clark gets on the ball during the English League Cup third-round football match between Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Coventry, central England, on September 18, 2024. Mason-Clark is expected to be called up for Jamaica for the FIFA World Cup play-offs this month. (Photo: AFP)

Interim Reggae Boyz head Coach Rudolph Speid is expected to name his squad on Friday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)