Boyz squad ready for Cup start

[Karl]

Boyz squad ready for Cup start

Published: Tuesday | June 5, 2012



Panama's Amilcar Henriquez (left) and Armando Cooper fight for the ball against Jamaica's Demar Phillips (centre) during a friendly international football match in Panama City last Friday night. Panama won 2-1.-AP


JAMAICA'S coaching staff has named a 23-man squad for its two CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying (WCQ) Semi-final Round matches against Guatemala and Antigua & Barbuda.

The Jamaicans will tackle Guatemala in their WCQ opener on Friday at the National Stadium, before jetting off for the clash four days later against the Antiguans in St John's on June 12.

This squad was named after Jamaica completed its warm-up match schedule with back-to-back losses against Panama: 1-0 at the National Stadium on Sunday, May 27 and 2-1 in Panama City last Friday night.

A number of those selected were members of the winning Digicel Caribbean Championship team, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup group that was eliminated by the United States in the semi-finals.

They include Dwayne Miller, Demar Phillips, Jermaine Taylor, Keammar Daley, Luton Shelton, Ryan Johnson, Je-Vaughn Watson, Dane Richards, Rodolph Austin and Jason Morrison.

Stoke City striker Ricardo Fuller and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts number among the most experienced, while recalled central defensive duo, Claude Davis and Damion Stewart, have also been included.
no World Cup experience

As many as 11 of the players selected have no prior World Cup experience, and Nyron Nosworthy, Xavian Virgo, Adrian Mariappa, Rohan Reid, Ewan Grandison, Joel Senior, Errol Stevens and Tramaine Stewart have only represented the country in close to five senior internationals.

On Sunday, notification was served that English-based attackers Marlon King and Chris Humphrey were dropped for the first two matches for a breach of 'curfew' rules during their recent Panama tour.

SQUAD: Donovan Ricketts, Dwayne Miller, Demar Phillips, Xavian Virgo, Nyron Nosworthy, Damion Stewart, Adrian Mariappa, Claude Davis, Lovel Palmer, Jermaine Taylor, Rohan Reid, Ewan Grandison, Joel Senior, Errol Stevens, Keammar Daley, Luton Shelton, Ryan Johnson, Ricardo Fuller, Je-Vaughn Watson, Dane Richards, Tramaine Stewart, Rodolph Austin and Jason Morrison.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2...s/sports2.html

[Karl]

Best take the field X1 from announced squad?

Squad:

Donovan Ricketts, Dwayne Miller, Demar Phillips, Xavian Virgo, Nyron Nosworthy, Damion Stewart, Adrian Mariappa, Claude Davis, Lovel Palmer, Jermaine Taylor, Rohan Reid, Ewan Grandison, Joel Senior, Errol Stevens, Keammar Daley, Luton Shelton, Ryan Johnson, Ricardo Fuller, Je-Vaughn Watson, Dane Richards, Tramaine Stewart, Rodolph Austin and Jason Morrison.


Donovan Ricketts (GK),
Demar Phillips, Nyron Nosworthy, Adrian Mariappa, Jermaine Taylor,

Keammar Daley, Rodolph Austin (enforcer?), Ryan Johnson, Je-Vaughn Watson,
Dane Richards, Ricardo Fuller...

Line-up?
What say you?

[HL]

Jamaica will advance to the round of 6.

At this point the squad should be fully motivated to win against the two weaker teams in the group.

[Karl]

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/prelimi...910/index.html

2 to advance!
We should beat Guyana (FIFA #99) and Antigua & Barbuda (FIFA #100)...then next group -

Round 3 of qualifying for Brazil 2014 in the CONCACAF zone begins in 2012 with the region’s big boys joining the party. Giants USA, under new leadership, will be favourites in Group A alongside Caribbean powers Jamaica and Guatemala and shock side Antigua and Barbuda. FIFA.com breaks down the penultimate round of preliminaries in North, Central America and the Caribbean, which begins next June.

1. USA
2. Jamaica
3. Guatemala
4. Antigua and Barbuda

The favourites
Having qualified for the FIFA World Cup™ nine times, including the last six, USA will be the team to beat in this section. Pedigree, organisation, and history aside, however, the Americans are currently suffering a crisis of confidence and form. They lost the final of last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup 4-2 to arch-rivals Mexico and have shown holes throughout defence, midfield and attack in recent friendlies. New coach, Jurgen Klinsmann - an icon of the German game and former Nationalelf player and coach - is charged with reviving the side’s flagging fortunes. But his start to life on the US bench has been far from convincing, presiding over just two wins in his first seven games in charge.

With the Americans needing a turnaround in form and psychology, reigning Caribbean champions Jamaica could well prove spoilers. Coached by former international hero Theodore Whitmore, the Reggae Boyz are a side on the up, displaying a new-found discipline to go with their usual athleticism and technique.

The outsiders
While USA and Jamaica have been feasting on friendlies, Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda arrive in the group after six games of competitive action in Round 2. The Guatemalans, led by veteran striker and all-time top scorer Carlos Ruiz, strolled through the previous round, winning all their games against Belize, St. Vincent/Grenadines and Grenada. The Wadadli Boyz, for their part, pulled off one of the shocks of qualifying so far, edging Haiti to first place to put themselves on the football map.

Players to watch
The Americans will be led by their all-time top scorer and playmaker Landon Donovan, who recently inspired Los Angeles Galaxy to another Major League Soccer title. Jozy Altidore will be the man looking to bang home the goals while Everton's Tim Howard minds the net. Jamaica’s Dane Richards, who also plays in Major League Soccer, will be the man to watch for the islanders. His searing pace and keen eye for goal will trouble even the best defences. Guatemala’s Ruiz is the heart and soul of the team, while underdogs Antigua and Barbuda are led by the free-scoring Pete ‘Big Pete’ Byers and the old head of veteran defender George Dublin.

What they’re saying
“We’ve put our tiny country on the map – we have to be the smallest country left in qualifying. I sometimes still can’t believe we did what we did [beating Haiti], and it makes me want more. Why not the next round? Why not wearing an Antigua and Barbuda jersey at the World Cup in Brazil?” Antigua and Barbuda captain George Dublin on the unlikely road ahead for his island country of just under 80,000 people.

Did you know?
- Guatemala have come agonisingly close to qualifying for a FIFA World Cup, missing out in 2006 by just one point.

- Jamaica’s current coach, Whitmore, scored twice for Jamaica as a player in the country’s only ever trip to a world finals, against Japan at France 1998.

- Virtually the entire starting line-up of Antigua and Barbuda play for the country’s only professional club team, Antigua Barracuda, who line up in the USA’s third pro tier. Both teams are coached by Englishman Tom Curtis.

- USA, who went out of South Africa 2010 at the Round of 16, once reached the semi-finals of a FIFA World Cup, in 1930, led by iconic figures Billy Gonsalves and Bert Patenaude.

then

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/prelimi...gs/round4.html

[Dunny]

Squad:

Donovan Ricketts, Dwayne Miller, Demar Phillips, Xavian Virgo, Nyron Nosworthy, Damion Stewart, Adrian Mariappa, Claude Davis, Lovel Palmer, Jermaine Taylor, Rohan Reid, Ewan Grandison, Joel Senior, Errol Stevens, Keammar Daley, Luton Shelton, Ryan Johnson, Ricardo Fuller, Je-Vaughn Watson, Dane Richards, Tramaine Stewart, Rodolph Austin and Jason Morrison.


Donovan Ricketts (GK),
Demar Phillips, Nyron Nosworthy, Adrian Mariappa, Jermaine Taylor,

Keammar Daley, Rodolph Austin (enforcer?), Ryan Johnson, Je-Vaughn Watson,
Dane Richards, Ricardo Fuller...

Line-up?
What say you?

That's exactly the team i would start the game with, however we need to find a replacement for Jermaine Taylor as he is suspended for this game.

[Jangle]

I am always nervous with Austin in the team. He is always a tackle away from a red card. Antigua should not pose any problems and I expect a heavy defeat for them.