Injuries plague McClaren’s selection
Published:Saturday | August 30, 2025 | 12:08 AM
When the Reggae Boyz take to the field to kick-start the final round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers, they will be without several key players as head coach Steve McClaren explained his selection has been heavily impacted by injuries.
McClaren was speaking yesterday at a press conference held at the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) headquarters where he announced his 26-man squad for the qualifiers in the September international window.
Jamaica will open Group B action against Bermuda on September 5 in an away fixture, before playing hosts to Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago at the National Stadium on September 9.
“There are 26 players in the squad because we have quite a few injuries and quite a few niggles,” he said.
Jamaica will be without the likes of team captain and veteran goalkeeper Andre Blake, Leon Bailey, Joel Latibeaudiere, Bobby Reid and Di’Shon Bernard.
The head coach also explained that Jamaica’s injury woes do not end at players omitted from the squad, as there are players in the squad who they are closely monitoring for minor injury concerns.
These players include Inter Miami’s Ian Fray, Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock, Amari’i Bell of Charlton Athletic and Mount Pleasant’s Jahshaun Anglin.
McClaren said he will be closing watching these players in their club duties over the weekend and assessing their fitness before they travel to meet up with the team on camp.
“We’re waiting for players to come through, the likes of Ian Fray, who is retuning from an abductor muscle injury, played his first 90 minutes for the first time the other night.” he explained.
“Ethan Pinnock played 60 minutes on Tuesday, he’s been injured in pre-season and we hope he plays [today] to get some minutes as well and we’ll assess him,” the Reggae Boyz boss continued.
“Amari’i Bell, we’ll see if he plays [today], he has a little niggle too. Anglin, as everybody probably saw on the island, he got an hamstring injury and came off, but we’re hoping that he’s not too bad.”
As a precaution against any sudden player withdrawal, McClaren said he has chosen a larger-than-usual squad to ensure they can account for any gaps in the team.
He is, however, hoping that all the players can enter the camp healthy and Jamaica will be able to field as strong a unit as possible.
“We have one or two situations where we might lose players and I didn’t want to bring in players last minute, which is why we have additions to the squad.”
In the absence of several key players, Jamaica has called up new players who are set to make their international debut donning the black, green and gold.
One such player is New York Red Bulls defender Kyle Duncan, who McClaren said has been targeted for quite a while.
Duncan, born in the United States, represents the US at the youth levels and earned a sole senior cap in an international friendly in 2020.
The defender has now committed his international future with the Reggae Boyz, which McClaren sees as a major boost.
“We welcome new players like Kyle Duncan,” he said.
“We have been following him for quite a while at the New York Red Bulls. I’ve watched him quite a few times and he has a lot of potential, so we’ve brought him into the squad.”
Another new addition is Bailey Cadamarteri, who has been called up once again to the national programme.
Cadamarteri had earned a call-up to the Reggae Boyz by former head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, but the forward had decided to accept a call-up to the England U19 squad instead.
A year later, he is now set to be a Reggae Boyz, having earned the approval of McClaren.
“[Bailey] Cadamarteri from Sheffield Wednesday, I watched him a lot last year when he was at loan at Lincoln and he has gone back to Sheffield Wednesday and has had a terrific start to the season.”
Fray could also make his debut for the island, having been a long-time target for the squad and having been named in the provisional roster for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Based on recent form and world rankings, Jamaica will enter both games as favourites but McClaren warned against overconfidence against teams who can pose problems for the Boyz’s hopes of qualifying for a second-ever World Cup appearance.
The final round of qualifiers will see the teams compete in a round-robin format, playing home and away, with the winners of the group qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The next best two second-placed teams will advance to the intercontinental play-offs for another chance at qualification.
Full Squad:
Goalkeepers: Shaquan Davis, Jahmali Waite, Tafari Chambers
Defenders: Dexter Lembikisa, Kyle Duncan, Damion Lowe, Richard King, Ethan Pinnock, Mason Holgate, Amari’i Bell, Greg Leigh
Midfielders: Isaac Hayden, Ian Fray, Jon Russell, Kasey Palmer, Karoy Anderson, Jahshaun Anglin, Kevon Lambert
Forwards: Kaheim Dixon, Demarai Gray, Renaldo Cephas, Tyreece Campbell, Warner Brown, Bailey Cadamarteri, Michail Antonio, Shamar Nicholson