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Young Boyz look to beef up stock ahead of World Cup
Paul Reid
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Paul Reid
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
CATHERINE HALL, St James — Head coach of the Jamaican team Wendell Downswell is seeking to strengthen the squad before they depart for Mexico for the June 18 to July 10 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
The Jamaican team qualified for the global tournament for the first time since 1999 by making the semi-finals of the two-week tournament that ended on Sunday, but they lost their last two games, beaten 2-0 by the USA in the semi-finals and 1-0 by Panama in the third-place play-off.
Jamaica’s Reggae Boy Javia Roberts (right) speeds away from Alonzo Goot of Panama during their CONCACAF Under-17 Championship third-place play-off at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Sunday. Panama won 1-0. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)Downswell, who was also part of the Under 20 team that had qualified for the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina in 2001, told the Observer on Sunday, that his team will start looking for players to fill certain positions, but said the process will not be open to all and sundry.
"We are targeting certain players and it will be a closed process," he said, adding that the exercise will start in another week or so, while members of the team that took part in the tournament will get some well-needed rest.
"We have the core of the team that will go to the World Cup" he said, "so we are targeting specific players in some crucial positions and that is the immediate need."
Downswell's shopping list includes "another goalkeeper, two central defenders, two midfielders and two strikers".
Meanwhile, the veteran coach said he would be approaching the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for between 10-12 international warm-up games, while continuing the preparation with games here against top club teams.
He said one of the main problems cited at the tournament was the inability of the players to concentrate for long periods and not playing two good halves in one game.
The preparation, he said, would include "70-minute games against Premier League sides and 80-minute games against top Under-21 teams". This, he said, would help condition the team as they seek to improve in the 100 days or so left to the World Cup.
The international games, he said, would help expose the players to better competition and create an environment where they can learn more.
He will also be seeking to get all the players in one area for the rest of the time before the World Cup. "We cant wait until weekends to get them," he told the Observer. "We may seek to find a school where they can all attend during the school term so they wont miss out on schoolwork, while continuing to prepare for the World Cup," Downswell added.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1FLvtzi3D
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