U17 Reggae Boyz in good space – Downswell

Wendell Downswell, head coach of Jamaica’s Under-17 team, believes the junior Reggae Boyz have a good chance of advancing to the knockout stage of this year’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar despite being drawn in a challenging group.

Jamaica will face European champions Italy, Côte d’Ivoire, and Uzbekistan in a group that will test both their quality and preparation.

The young Reggae Boyz qualified for the tournament after topping their group in the Concacaf qualifying competition in Alajuela, Costa Rica, in February. However, they have failed to progress beyond the group stage in their last two appearances at the Under-17 World Cup.

Despite the challenge ahead, particularly given Jamaica’s limited international match exposure compared with some of their opponents, Downswell remains optimistic about his team’s chances of advancing.

“Our aim is to get out of the zone, and we are looking at accomplishing that, but that won’t be an easy task based on what I have seen. We are up against Italy, and Italy have played 10-15 international games leading up to now,” said Downswell.

“I am absolutely certain that they will be playing more international games, so you can read through the lines as it relates to that.”

He added that a stronger programme of international friendlies would have provided better preparation but stressed that the coaching staff has been making the best use of the resources available.

“Everything comes down to preparations, and had we had the ideal preparation where we could have played three or four international games, then that would have put us in good stead,” Downswell said.

“Now, what we actually do, since we don’t have the resources to play the international games, is use the local landscape, using the Tier Two teams and local Premier League teams as part of our preparations,” he said.

“With that, we are hoping that, based on the abilities of the players and the preparations that we have put in place, we will have a chance of advancing from the group.”

Downswell noted that securing a positive result in the opening match against Italy will be critical before attention turns to the remaining group encounters.

“Italy, as you know, are the European Under-17 champions, with Ivory Coast from Africa and Uzbekistan also in the group. Our aim is to try to get a positive result or even a point from the opening game, then we will take it from there,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Downswell said the players remain upbeat about their World Cup prospects and believe the quality within the squad gives them reason to be confident.

“They are quite upbeat and looking forward to the tournament, and the fact that we have two players in the senior team, I think, augurs well for us. It speaks volumes for the team to know that we have two members on the national senior team,” he said.

“Based on that quality that we have, we are hoping that will bring us across the line in terms of qualifying for the next round, based on the ability, commitment, and condition of the players because they have been responding well in the 14-day camp.”