Hallgrimsson planning for the long term

Speaking in an interview before the start of the national team’s two friendly matches against Trinidad and Tobago, head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson says these games will be used as an assessment of the players’ potential to join the full-strength national team in the future.

Jamaica will face Trinidad and Tobago today at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, and Hallgrimsson said he intends to use the match as a chance to see the local-based players in action against international opponents.

Hallgrimsson says this is an opportunity for these players to vie for a spot in the national team for the long-term.

“The main purpose is to look at these players to see if they have the potential to be a part of the squad now or 2026 or 2030,” he said. “The main purpose is just to give them a chance to show what they can do and then we take a decision to keep on working with those players in the short term or in the long term.

“It is solely domestic-based players. We took one young goalkeeper from the United States to see as a third option, but mostly it’s looking at the players we haven’t seen in action before. It’s a very young squad that we have. We probably would have had an even younger squad if the under-20s weren’t playing at the same time and a very inexperienced squad that we have.”

According to Hallgrimsson, he is not focused on winning the games but rather, will be looking to identify players that he believes can become a part of his plans for the future.

With the matches falling outside of a FIFA international window, the games’ results will have no effect on Jamaica’s FIFA ranking.

“These are unofficial matches so they don’t affect FIFA rankings, and we can do as many changes as we like, so the importance of winning, even though we always like to win matches, the importance of winning is not for me the biggest thing. We left in Jamaica players that if winning were the most important thing, we would have selected and brought here,” the Reggae Boyz head coach said.

Despite not focused on the results, Hallgrimsson expects a competitive match because of the rivalry between both teams.

This is the fourth time in the span of a year that he will be facing Trinidad as a coach, and Hallgrímsson is well aware of the history between both nations.

“It’s always competitive. Matches against Trinidad have always been physical, and there is the rivalry. I know that there is a rivalry between the two nations, but I think both coaches are now using it as an opportunity to see fringe players and future players,” Hallgrimsson said.

After today’s match, Jamaica will face Trinidad on Sunday for their final game at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima. The match is set to kick off at 2 p.m. Jamaica time.