Reggae Girlz Head Coach Lorne Donaldson welcomes the two-game friendly series against Paraguay next month as he intensifies preparations for next summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Tournament in New Zealand and Australia.
According to the coach, a former national player, the games will provide his team the opportunity of playing against the South American possession-based style of play, an experience which could prove beneficial pending the official draw slated for later this month.
“We know that in a World Cup there are different variations of tiers and styles and so we wanted to again test ourselves against these South Americans because we still don’t know what the draw will deal us. So they are a perfect fit at this stage, given what both of us want to achieve,” Donaldson told the media after the game was announced.
He added: “All those teams have improved and their style has improved, so, just like us, we have to look at them see what they bring to the table so that after the draw we can go back and have a reference to watch who they play and see how we match up against them, if we draw one of those [South American] teams.”
The games, which fall in the FIFA Window, are slated for November 10 at Catherine Hall Stadium in St James, and three days later at Kingston’s National Stadium.
However, by the time of the games, Jamaica would have already known most of the teams they face at the World Cup Finals next year, as the draw is slated for later this month.
Jamaica qualified for their second consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament last July in Mexico, while Paraguay finished fourth in the South American Women’s qualifiers in August and will enter the
FIFA Intercontinental play-offs in New Zealand next February. Three teams will qualify from the 10 down to take part, joining the 29 nations which have already qualified for the Women’s World Cup Finals.
Donaldson is also hopeful that a camp can be arranged for December, even if the European-based players, who will be in the middle of their season, are unavailable.
The Reggae Girlz were last in action during a 1-0 loss away to South Korea last month.
