Leon Bailey and Michail Antonio will not be available for the Reggae Boyz matches against Japan and Serbia that have been scheduled for June as Jamaica’s senior squad continues its preparation for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July and the World Cup qualifiers in September.
Both players were excluded from a Jamaica 30-man squad because they have not yet signed wage contracts with the Jamaica Football Federation. As a result, neither player has been included in a 30-man Jamaica squad set to leave on May 30 for matches against number 28th ranked Japan on Thursday, June 3 in Sakura; 25th ranked Serbia on Monday, June 7 in Kobe, and the Japanese Olympic team on June 12 in Nagoya.
Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts revealed that the management of the Bayer Leverkusen winger has committed to signing his contract but they have yet to do so. “There is a little bit of tardiness on behalf of Leon and his management. They have not yet signed the contract. I think we would have gotten a verbal commitment that he would so in short order,” Ricketts said.
“Same thing goes for Michail Antonio. His agent has indicated that they have not yet gone through the document in its entirety so they will do so in short order as soon as they have gone through and are comfortable with the content of the document.
“So, we are hopeful that these contracts will be signed soon and based on indications from Coach Whitmore these players will be part of the set-up as soon as the contracts are signed.”
The JFF president said other players could also join the squad as soon as ongoing discussions have been successfully concluded.
Meanwhile, the 30-man squad will include Andre Blake, Dennis Taylor, Jaedine White, Dillon Barnes, Adrian Mariappa, Kasey Palmer, Amari Bell, Kemar Lawrence, Wesley Harding, Oneil Fisher, Alvas Powell, Devon Williams, Kevon Lambert, Ravel Morrison, Blair Turgott, Junior Flemmings, Damion Lowe, Luca Levee, Tyreek McGhee, Lamar Walker, Bobby Reid, Javon East, Shemar Nicholson, Cory Burke, Andre Gray, Jashaun Anglin, Ethan Pinnock, Michael Hector, Kevaugn Isaacs, Liam Moore.
Coach Theodore Whitmore said as the team approaches a crucial period in its preparation, the players are required to consistently bring out their best.
“This is an important year for the Reggae Boyz insofar as international competition is concerned. The CONCACAF Gold Cup is slated for July and the FIFA 2020 World Cup qualifiers will kick off in September. We will be very busy during the second half of this year,” Whitmore said. “We welcome the two matches against Japan and Serbia. These are important games to fine-tune preparations for the Gold Cup.
“We anticipate a very competitive roster. Each player, domestic and foreign-based, must use every available opportunity to perform and press their case for selection. We have spent the last three years looking, moulding and preparing. Now is the time to deliver.
“We need each player to challenge himself and take responsibility, to be accountable on and off the pitch for performance and conduct. The standards and expectations are high.”
Whitmore also commended the JFF and the players for settling the wage dispute which has now removed an obstacle from their period of preparation and urged Corporate Jamaica to support the team as he believes has the talent to achieve their goal of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Whitmore scored both goals in Jamaica’s 2-1 victory over Japan during the 1998 World Cup in France but the Reggae Boyz lost their encounter against the Japanese 1-0 in 2014.
Jamaica last played Serbia in 2017 and lost that match 2-1.
President Ricketts said the JFF is satisfied with the safety arrangements to be put in place for the three matches.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
T&T's Soca Warriors back in top 100 on FIFA World Rankings list; Reggae Boyz now at 56th
Eight-time Caribbean Cup champions Trinidad and Tobago have surged inside the top 100 on the FIFA World Rankings list for the first time in almost five years following recent wins over El Salvador and Curacao.
The Soca Warriors – in the latest list published Thursday – climbed four places up to 98th from 102, a spot they held in the last rankings in July. They were last inside the FIFA top 100 at 92nd in December 2018. Based on their world position, the twin island republic remains the fourth highest rated in Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz jumped two places up the FIFA list to 56th and remain number in CFU ahead of Haiti at 87th world ranked and Curacao (90th). Antigua and Barbuda complete the CFU’s top five at 137th.
In the only change to the CFU’s top 10, Guyana have climbed into 10th position with a three place move to 165th in the world, as Barbados – the result of Nations League losses to Montserrat and Nicaragua – slipped out of the top 10. The fell six places on the world list from 166th to 172nd.
World champions Argentina strengthened their grip at the summit of the world rankings. The Argentines, who dethroned Brazil at the top in April, defeated Ecuador and Bolivia in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers earlier this month to improve their status.
Despite losing to Germany in a friendly last week, France retained second place, followed by Brazil (third), England (fourth) and Belgium (fifth).
Harbour View, Atletico Pantoja settle for hard-fought draw
Atletico Pantoja of the Dominican Republic and Jamaican side Harbour View settled for a 1-1 draw in Group B action of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup on Wednesday night at the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Harbour View now sit atop the group with four points after two matches, while Atletico Pantoja played to their third consecutive draw, with three points from three matches.
The match came to life very quickly, as just five minutes into the contest Harbour View held a 1-0 lead when Omar Thompson collected a pass on the left flank, cut to his right and unfurled and sizzling right-footed shot that went blazing into the top right corner.
Atletico Pantoja went right to work on trying to even the scoreline and started peppering the Harbour View goal, namely through Frantzedy Herard and Luis Espinal, who had three and two shots, respectively, in the first half.
Atletico Pantoja kept plugging away and a lack of communication from the Harbour View defense led to a chance for Herard, who was clipped in the area, resulting in a penalty.
Captain Robert Rosado stepped up to take the spot kick and coolly converted to even things at 1-1 in the 59’.
The final half-hour saw the two sides battle ferociously in search of a winning score, but the only thing to emerge from the physical, hard-fought final 30 minutes was a point for each team as things ended in a share of the spoils.
Brendan Rodgers reveals his discontent at Celtic’s summer transfer business
Brendan Rodgers has admitted his discontent with Celtic’s summer transfer business in the same week the club announced record profits.
The Celtic boss claimed every manager would want more signings, but he made it clear he was not satisfied with what transpired.
Celtic announced a record annual profit of £40.7million on Monday and revealed they had had £72.3m “net of bank borrowings” on June 30 this year, although they have since invested £15million on transfer fees.
The Scottish champions signed nine players this summer, but when asked if he was content with the business, Rodgers said: “No. No, I think if you ask any manager they will always be wanting more, of course.
“But we work with the players that’s here. I’m not saying that in any disrespectful way, I think every manager will tell you they maybe wished they could have done one or two more signings.
“But the window closed, we had the players we had in and I’m a coaching manager, and we will work with the very, very best players at our disposal to make our performance level the best we can possibly be.
“And now we are preparing already for the January window and the summer window.”
Celtic signed seven players on permanent deals this summer – Kwon Hyeok-kyu, Marco Tilio, Yang Hyun-jun, Odin Thiago Holm, Maik Nawrocki, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Luis Palma – and brought in Paulo Bernardo and Nat Phillips on loan.
Of those, only Palma and Lagerbielke started in Tuesday’s opening Champions League defeat by Feyenoord and the Swedish defender was sent off alongside substitute Holm.
Outside of Phillips, who came in late in the window after a spate of injuries to central defenders, the average age of the new arrivals was 21 when they signed.
Celtic lost three regulars from their treble-winning squad in Jota, Carl Starfelt and Aaron Mooy, and now have a larger but arguably less experienced squad.
Rodgers said: “Listen, if you look at the strategy of the club, it’s signing the younger players to develop and improve.
“I think I have said it before here, that to maximise that potential, of course, you need that balance in your squad.
“You need quality and you need experience, and that will obviously help and support potential that you have.
“So that’s something that hopefully over the course of my time here that the squad can regenerate into that way.”
Rodgers admitted pre-match in Rotterdam that his team were not at “peak Celtic”, but there were positive signs during the game before a soft opening goal from a free-kick and the two red cards undermined their chances.
When asked how close they were to clicking into gear, Rodgers said: “It’s time. A lot of young players coming into the squad, coming into the team.
“It’s a different team even from when I agreed to come in, looking at the players who have moved on and the players we have brought into the club.
“It takes that little bit of time and obviously when you are missing key players, key players can influence the level at which you play the game.
“But thankfully the likes of Reo Hatate…. he had another 55-60 minutes the other night, so that’s really good for him in terms of match practice because he has not played so much. When he gets up to speed, he will show he is a fantastic player.
“A few others are coming back a little bit later, but I would anticipate us getting better as the season goes on.”
Phillips remains a doubt for Saturday’s trip to face Livingston in the cinch Premiership after missing Tuesday’s European clash in Rotterdam.
“Nat had a heavy roll on his ankle last weekend,” Rodgers said. “We will give him another 24 hours. He has been out on the pitch so we will just assess it from there.”
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