Unity Cup to be used as audition for Concacaf Nations League
Loading article...
Reggae Boyz interim head coach Rudolph Speid says the Unity Cup will be used to deepen the national programme’s selection pool, as several players will get the chance to stake their claim ahead of the Concacaf Nations League.
Jamaica will face India tomorrow in their opening game of the Unity Cup before facing either Nigeria or Zimbabwe in their second match on Saturday.
Speaking in his pre-game press conference, Speid said one of the objectives for the Unity Cup is to give new players a chance to break into the national programme ahead of September’s Nations League campaign.
He believes this will broaden Jamaica’s selection process and provide needed competition for places in the Reggae Boyz squad.
“I am very excited,” Speid said. “These players have a lot of talent. These players are highly rated by their respective clubs, so I am very excited to work with them.”
He continued, “What it will do is widen the selection process because we have Nations League coming up in September. This is a good chance for the younger players to showcase what they can do.
“I am hoping that they give some of the other players some serious competition. That is really good for us at this time.”
Of the players selected for the Unity Cup, seven are expected to make their debuts, including Joshua Grant, Odin Samuels-Smith, Marlon Van De Wetering, Courtney Clarke, Caelan-Kole Cadamarteri, Dajaune Brown, and Nick Simmonds.
Grant, Van de Wetering, and Simmonds have all represented Jamaica at the youth level.
‘UNKNOWN QUANTITY’
Speid said there were difficulties in preparing for India, who he described as an ‘unknown’ opponent for the Boyz.
The last time Jamaica faced India was in 2002 where they played twice, Jamaica winning 3-0 in the first game before a scoreless draw in the second encounter.
“It is very, very difficult to assess because we have never played against them at this level before. No, sorry. We have played against them before. It was way back in 2002,” he explained.
“So it has been a very long time since we have played against India. It is a little bit of an unknown quantity but we will try to play what we came out to play in that particular game.”
Speid explained he has kept an eye on all three teams leading up to the Unity Cup and expects a strong challenge from all three nations.
He admitted each nation will bring their own set of challenges in a short window of time, but they are prepared to face whichever team they line up against.
“The challenges are different. We will play two games but the thing is that we have to study three teams. So we have looked at what they have done and we are very impressed,” he said.
“We know there will be effort from all the teams, so we are preparing for that.”
All games at Unity Cup will be played at The Valley, home to English Football League (EFL) Championship club, Charlton Athletic.
Nigeria are the defending champions of the Unity Cup, having defeated Jamaica on penalties in last year’s final.
Caption: Reggae Boy Kyle Ming is one of those searching for a more regular place in the national team ahead of the Concacaf Nations League. – Courtesy of JFF Media