Related items

• Reggae Warriors name 20-man squad to face Wales on October 15

  Jamaica has called up a 20-man squad to prepare for their international clash with world number 17 Wales, at the The Lextan Gnoll in Neath, on Tuesday, October 15 (kick-off 7.30pm).

  Most players called up play in English competitions, the lone exception, Alex Young, is currently signed to the Sydney Roosters in Australia. Included are veterans such as Ben Jones-Bishop, James Woodburn Hall, Mo Agoro, Jordan Andrade, Keenen Tomlinson, and Ross Peltier. However, there are also plenty new faces with possible debutants coming from Darius Carter, Delaine Gittens-Bedwards, Jaden Dayes, Leo Skerritt-Evans, Aaron Smalls, Keenan Ramsden and Joshua Hudson-Lett.

  Injury has forced the withdrawal of inspirational captain Ashton Golding (Huddersfield), Jerome Yates (West Warriors) and Greg Johnson (Moldgreen), whilst Michael Lawrence (Bradford) and AJ Wallace (Huddersfield) are unavailable due to club duties. Resulting, former captains Joe Brown and Jy-Mel Coleman, both instrumental in Jamaica’s qualification to the 2021 World Cup, have made themselves available if required, with Coleman doubling as an assistant coach.
  
  Jamaica will be coached by Rhys Lovegrove, who is Academy Head Coach at Super League club Hull KR. He commented, “I’m really honoured and privileged to be part of the coaching set and excited to see some new faces pull on the jersey to face Wales”.
  
  Director of Rugby and Head of Jamaica’s men’s programme Romeo Monteith added, “As an organisation we are happy to face Wales at their home. They are a good team with a proud history in rugby league. Jamaica remains committed to playing at least one international in Europe annually and we hope to collaborate more often with Wales in the future. The game helps them prepare for their European World Cup qualifiers, and it helps us in our preparation for the World Series in 2025 as it’s vital our professional players get a chance to play together as often as possible.”

  The Reggae Warriors played their last men’s international against the USA on December 3, 2024, going down 26-30. After Wales, Jamaica faces Canada in Toronto on October 19.

  JAMAICA SQUAD:
  Delaine Gittens-Bedward (Barrow Raiders), Joshua Hudson-Lett (Bedford Tigers), Leo Skerrett-Evans (Castleford Tigers), Aaron Small (Cornwall), Keenen Tomlinson (Featherstone Rovers), James Woodburn-Hall (Halifax), Darius Carter, Kieran Rush (Huddersfield Giants), Chris Ball (London Broncos), Alex Brown (Moldgreen ARLFC), Mo Agoro (Oldham), Jaden Dayes, Jordan Andrade (Rochdale), Ben Jones-Bishop (Sheffield), Keenan Ramsden (Siddal), Alex Young (Sydney Roosters), Isaac Coleman (York Acorn), Joe Brown, Jy-Mel Coleman, Ross Peltier (Unattached)

   

• Fit-again Mbappe not selected by France

  Kylian Mbappe has been left out of France's squad for their Nations League games against Israel and Belgium.

  Mbappe, who sustained a muscular injury while in action for Real Madrid last month, returned to action for Los Blancos on Wednesday.

  The 25-year-old was a substitute but could not help Madrid avoid falling to a 1-0 defeat at Lille in the Champions League.

  However, Didier Deschamps has made the call to rest Mbappe for this month's fixtures.

  "He has a problem that is not serious. I'm not here to take risks, which is why Kylian isn't on the list," Deschamps told reporters.

  Bayern Munich's Michael Olise, meanwhile, was called up, while Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku has also been selected for the first time since June 2023.

  Lucas Digne, who was called up as an injury replacement for the last squad, has kept his place after some impressive displays for Aston Villa.

  Mbappe's Madrid team-mate Eduardo Camavinga has also been called up after recovering from a knee injury.

  France lost to Italy in their Nations League opener, but bounced back by beating Belgium 2-0.

  France squad in full:

  Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens); Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich); Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (Milan), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio), Manu Kone (Roma), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG); Bradley Barcola (PSG), Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter).

• France great Griezmann announces international retirement

  Antoine Griezmann has announced his retirement from international football, having amassed 137 caps over 10 years in the France setup.

  Griezmann made his Bleus debut in a friendly against the Netherlands in March 2014 and went on to play a vital role for Didier Deschamps' side at six major tournaments.

  Griezmann scored in the 2018 World Cup final as France beat Croatia to win their second crown in Russia, also shining as they reached the 2022 final, only to lose to Argentina.

  The 33-year-old also helped his country win the 2020-21 edition of the Nations League and finished as the leading goalscorer at Euro 2016, where France were runners-up to Portugal on home soil.

  In a video posted to his social media channels, Griezmann said: "It is with a heart full of memories that I close this chapter of my life. 

  "Thank you for this magnificent tricolour adventure and see you soon."

  Only Hugo Lloris (145) and Lillian Thuram (142) have won more caps for France than Griezmann, who is tied for third in their all-time appearance charts with Olivier Giroud.

  His tally of 44 goals makes him the fourth-highest scorer in France's history, while he has also provided the most assists (30) of any Bleus player since records began in 1966.

  Griezmann made 116 starts for his country, the third-highest total of any player in their history, while he also enjoyed a record-breaking run of 84 successive caps, which ended earlier this year when he missed his first France game in seven years – a friendly defeat to Germany in March.

  He scored four times during France's triumphant run at the 2018 World Cup but made his most decisive impact at the European Championships.

   

  Only Cristiano Ronaldo (14) and compatriot Michel Platini (nine) have bettered his total of seven goals at the Euros, six of which came in 2016 – only Platini (nine at Euro 1984) has ever scored more at a single edition of the tournament.

  Griezmann's announcement comes one day after he brought up his 500th LaLiga appearance in Atletico Madrid's derby draw with Real Madrid, becoming only the second non-Spanish player to hit that milestone after Lionel Messi (520).

  Sevilla icon Jesus Navas, meanwhile, is the only active player to make more appearances than Griezmann in the competition, playing 508 games.

  Griezmann is just the eighth player overall to reach 500 LaLiga matches, with 285 of his appearances coming for Atleti, 141 for Real Sociedad and 74 for Barcelona.