Reggae Girl Kayla McKenna is eager to reunite with her international teammates after months of inaction, as Jamaica prepares to face Brazil in a pair of international friendlies on June 1 and June 4.
McKenna, who was part of the group of players that withdrew their services following disputes with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), has been selected for the Hubert Busby-led squad set to face Brazil. She expressed her excitement about returning to national duty and emphasized the importance of a good performance against Brazil to maintain the team’s positive momentum from their historic World Cup campaign.
“It’s obviously been a while since we had a chance to train together and play together,” McKenna said. “I think all the girls are really excited to get into camp and get our groove back. I think we left the team on a high and we left with good momentum. We played well together, we were comfortable together and so, we’re just really happy to be back here and find our groove again and pick up right where we left off.”
The upcoming matches against Brazil hold special significance for McKenna, as the team will be without their talismanic striker and captain, Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw. Shaw, who sustained an injury during her season with Manchester City, has been ruled out of the squad. McKenna, usually Shaw’s understudy, is expected to spearhead Jamaica’s attack in her absence.
‘Bunny’ is a big miss for us
Despite the pressure, McKenna remains unfazed, confident in the team’s ability to perform well even without key players. “Obviously, ‘Bunny’ is a big miss for us. She’s a massive part of the team but we’ve all, in the past, had to play our parts at different times and stepped into our roles, so we’re just going to do the best we can with it. So I’m excited hopefully to have a chance to get some minutes on the field and do the best we can and have a good game.”
McKenna is also keen to demonstrate the skills she has honed during her first season with Spanish side Villarreal. After leaving Scottish outfit Rangers FC last season, she scored 11 goals in 28 league appearances for Villarreal.
“It’s my first season in Spain and I’ve been playing with Villarreal and we have a couple games left to go in the season,” she said. “Personally, I’ve had a good season. As a team, I think we’ve been struggling a bit. We’ve put ourselves in a tough situation going into the last couple games of the season needing some wins. But I think individually I’ve been happy with how I’ve been able to perform in a new environment and a new team. I’m hopeful I’ll be able to help my team in these last couple of games.”
