Ricketts backs Boyz to get past tough Mexico

President of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Michael Ricketts, says the Reggae Boyz must be brave and decisive in front of goal if they are to overcome Concacaf giants Mexico in their two-legged Nations League quarterfinal tie later this month.

Jamaica will host the first leg at the National Stadium on November 14 before travelling to Mexico City for the return encounter on November 17.

Ricketts said that the Mexicans will pose a difficult challenge given their wealth of talent and resources, but he noted that the Reggae Boyz have players capable of securing a positive result on home soil and taking an advantage into the return leg.

“Mexico will always be tough. Mexico are blessed with an abundance of talent and facilities, and they are going to present a challenge to us. We are prepared and braced for that challenge. We will, of course, be playing on home soil, so we are expecting a good result,” said Ricketts.

“We have a number of exciting players who seem to be raring to go and who really want to get on the pitch to represent their country. We engage them on the 14th here in Jamaica and journey to Mexico for the return game on the 17th, so we want to go to Mexico with the advantage and then focus on ensuring that we don’t concede any goals.”

Ricketts stated that the team will need to be disciplined defensively while making the most of their opportunities on the counter-attack against the Mexicans.

“We must defend well because we are playing against a team that knows how to score goals, and when we counter on the break, we must make it count,” he said.

Interim head coach Rudolph Speid is expected to announce his squad for the two matches today, and according to Ricketts, he is anticipating a balanced group combining youth and experience.

“The squad will be named on Friday, and I am sure that it will be a nice blend of young players with some senior players. We are all hopeful and optimistic, but I don’t know what the squad is, so I am waiting to see. Like I said, we are hoping to do very well when we get on the field of play,” he said.

“Just come out and give some support. We are in a rebuilding mode, and we are trying to blend some experience with some young players, so just be patient with us as we move forward trying to build a squad that is going to make us proud.”