Hallgrimsson looks ahead for positive result against Argentina
As the country prepares to face Argentina in their friendly international match on Tuesday, newly-appointed head coach of the Reggae Boyz Heimir Hallgrimsson, says he has a firm idea of what his starting line-up will be for the game against the South American side.
The match will be Hallgrimsson’s first in charge of the Reggae Boyz and will be played at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey, starting at 7:00 pm Jamaica time.
Hallgrimsson told OBSERVER ONLINE that he has been in constant contact with the players and has been following their progress with their respective clubs and therefore despite the fact that he has not led a full training session with everyone, he knows what his final starting 11 will be against the Argentinians.
“Yes I have an idea who will be in the starting line, but I will then re-evaluate in front of the guys who know the players much better than me but I have a strong idea,” Hallgrimsson said.
“We will pick the system by the players we have, so in this game we will probably use what they have done before as it is difficult to change a lot of things when you play a strong opponent,” he said.
The Reggae Boyz’s 23-member squad includes the likes of Aston Villa’s winger Leon Bailey, West Ham’s Michail Antonio and Fulham’s Bobby Reid, who are all expected to start.
Argentina, ranked fourth in the world, are one of the favourites to win this year’s FIFA World Cup tournament, which will be held in Qatar in November. But according to Hallgrimsson he is expecting a solid performance from the Reggae Boyz.
“I have not been able to put in my philosophy as there have only been two training, two meetings so I have to be careful not to confuse the players, but then also the system is about how you can produce a win and that is the aim for us,” Hallgrimsson said.
Waterhouse’s Ricardo Thomas has replaced the injured Greg Leigh in the squad for the game.
Hallgrimsson along with his assistant John Wall and the rest the local-based Reggae Boyz delegation departed the island Saturday morning from the Norman Manley International Airport.