RUDOLPH Speid, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz interim head coach, believes the squad he’s selected for the FIFA World Cup play-offs is an improvement over the group used during the final round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers last year.

Speid, who was appointed last November following the resignation of Steve McClaren, named a 27-man squad on Friday that will travel to Mexico for the inter-continental play-offs against Oceania’s New Caledonia on March 26, and potentially DR Congo of Africa on March 31.

A total of 12 players who were part of McClaren’s final squad against Trinidad and Tobago and World Cup-bound Curacao in November, have been left out. As the Jamaica Observer previously reported, Shamar Nicholson, Kaheim Dixon, Dujuan “Whisper” Richards and Mason Holgate were among those not included in the squad.

As revealed by the Observer this week, Coventry City’s Ephron Mason-Clarke, Sheffield United’s Andre Brooks, and Tottenham Hotspur prospect Tyrese Hall have all been given their debut call-ups.

Aston Villa star Leon Bailey has been recalled — after missing all six of the final round of qualifiers — as well as Norman Campbell, Jamal Lowe and Kevon Lambert who haven’t played a competitive game for the national team since 2024.

Despite mixed reactions to his selections, Speid says the current squad is more capable of qualifying for the World Cup.

“In all cases they are upgrades — just go back to the selection criteria and you’ll see what we’re talking about,” he said.

“One of the players, Mason-Clark, is playing in a team that is bound to go to the [English] Premier League next season and he’s starting day in, day out, so we think these players can help us. It’s not to say that the other players who have been left out couldn’t help us, it’s just that these players, we think, can help us more.”

Given the short preparation time, Speid says he prioritised data and statistics in his selection process over players’ previous performances for the national team.

“We know that these two games, the opposition will be high-intensity. They’ll play in transition and counter-attack, and for every position these are some of the stats that drive the selection process,” he said. “So it was not an emotional pick; they were all data-driven. And we tried our best — even when you make the criteria — to select the right persons. These games are high-intensity games, and they are not for development — they are win or die games.”

Many have questioned the inclusion of three new English-born players in Mason-Clark, Brooks and Hall. Speid, however, says their form along with their commitment to the programme were key in their selection.

“These are really young players who decided they wanted to play for Jamaica. That kind of gives them a passing mark right away [as] they jumped at the first opportunity to play for us,” he said.

“Tyrese is somebody that comes [to Jamaica] on a regular basis, and I was told he wanted to play for us from his under-17 and under-20 [days]. Brooks, he’s 22 and wants to come. But if you look at their playing record this year, phenomenal. They play every game for their teams, or almost every game; they make contributions to their team in terms of the success that their teams have been having, personal success for themselves, and we just want them to add to the firepower that we have.”

Speid also revealed that former England forward Mason Greenwood still hasn’t decided on his international future while Keinan Davis, who has nine goals in the Serie A with Udinese, has yet to acquire Jamaican citizenship.

Montego Bay United’s Dwight Merrick and Mount Pleasant Football Academy’s Kyle Ming are the sole Jamaica Premier League representatives in the 27.

The squad is set to report for camp on Monday in Kingston before departing for Guadalajara on Tuesday.

Wins against New Caledonia and DR Congo would take Jamaica to the World Cup for the first time since 1998, joining Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan in Group K at this summer’s tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers – Andre Blake, Jahmali Waite, Amal Knight

Defenders – Damion Lowe, Richard King, Ethan Pinnock, Amari’i Bell, Joel Latibeaudiere, Ian Fray, Ronaldo Webster, Kyle Ming

Midfielders – Bobby Reid, Kasey Palmer, Isaac Hayden, Karoy Anderson, Ephron Mason-Clarke, Tyrese Hall, Kevon Lambert, Dwight Merrick

Forwards – Leon Bailey, Demarai Gray, Renaldo Cephas, Bailey Cadamarteri, Tyreece Campbell, Andre Brooks, Jamal Lowe, Norman Campbell

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz celebrate Bailey Cadamarteri’s opening goal in their 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago during the Concacaf World Cup Qualifer at the National Stadium on September 9, 2025. Photo: Joseph Wellington