Freckleton strengthens Boyz defence

When interim Reggae Boyz head coach Rudolph Speid announced his squad for the upcoming Concacaf Nations League fixtures yesterday, LASK defender Miguel Freckleton was the only new name on his list.

Speid said Freckleton’s inclusion in the squad was a foregone conclusion as the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has been monitoring the player for over a year and the defender is now eligible to represent Jamaica.

Born in England, Freckleton was developed in the Bristol Rovers academy before spending much of his early career on loan across various clubs in the English football pyramid.

Freckleton moved to St Mirren last year where he enjoyed a breakout season which earned him a move to Austrian Bundesliga club LASK over the summer.

Speid said Freckleton had been on the JFF’s radar for quite some time, and was in consideration to be called up for the FIFA Intercontinental Playoffs earlier in March.

However, he did not have the necessary documents to be cleared for the match, and was ultimately left out of Speid’s selection.

“His paperwork has come through, so he’s now eligible to represent Jamaica and we can actually invite him.”

“We were looking at him from last year when we scouted our initial squad of players to play in the World Cup qualifiers but he wasn’t ready to play for us yet.”

PHYSICAL PRESENCE

Speid said Freckleton’s inclusion in the squad brings a new physical presence to Jamaica’s backline.

He explained Freckleton’s call-up was not triggered by one particular game, but rather his consistent performance over the past year.

“There is no particular game. It’s his body of work over a particular period,” Speid said.

“[He is] mainly a left-footed centre back who can also play as a left back. He’s very strong. As you can see, tenacious and not afraid to make a strong tackle.”

With Freckleton also being 23 years old, he fits in well with the JFF’s new selection protocol of choosing young players to build a core that can compete in the 2030 World Cup qualifying cycle.

Speid said the new selection philosophy is based not only on current form, but also on where players are expected to be when the next World Cup qualifying campaign begins.

Freckleton is expected to make his debut in Jamaica’s opening Nations League against Honduras at the National Stadium on September 25.

Jamaica will then host Guatemala, also at the National Stadium, on September 28 with both games expected to kick off at 7 p.m.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com