Reggae Girlz head coach Hubert Busby Jr. anticipates a highly motivated Brazil when they face Jamaica in two international friendlies on June 1 and 4 in Brazil.
Speaking at a press conference at the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Headquarter on Wednesday, Busby highlighted several factors contributing to Brazil’s motivation for these matches.
Busby pointed out that these games might be the last home matches for women’s football legend Marta, and Brazil’s desire to avenge their elimination by Jamaica from the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia. Additionally, Brazilian players are fighting for places in the Olympic team and looking to establish themselves as regular senior players.
“Their motivation I do not know. But when we look at all the dynamics around this match, you have to take into consideration that Marta, who I had the pleasure of coaching in 2009, and she is such a great role model to all players around the world because of what she came through and what she means to the game, this is probably her last two games on home soil. And with the World Cup coming into their backyard, and the idea that we knocked them out of the World Cup, there is no other greater motivating factor than that,” Busby stated.
The importance of Jamaica being extremely organized
Given these factors, Busby emphasized the importance of Jamaica being extremely organized over the two matches. “There are players trying to make the final roster for the Olympic team. So we have all that to consider when we go into this game. They have the best player, arguably of this generation (Marta), moving on. So we have to look at where they are and what they could be.”
Busby noted the uncertainty regarding Brazil’s squad composition but expects a blend of experienced and younger players. “I still haven’t seen their squad, but the last four, five games they’ve had a mixture of old and young players. So we are not sure what squad they will bring up. But I think they will bring an experienced squad with an eye on the next cycle. We can’t control that, but we can control what we can do. So we are making sure that we are prepared and organized and that we are well structured. But this group of players has been around big matches for a long time, and so I think they will be able to handle it.”
Acknowledging the critical nature of results at the senior national team level, Busby stressed the aim of achieving positive outcomes and performances in Brazil.
“At the senior national team level, it is all about results, so we want to have positive results. These games are going to give us a good insight, also psychologically in terms of where we are and where we want to go. I have no doubt that these players have shown over and over on the biggest stage in the world that they are up for a challenge. So we are looking forward to having some good results, but more importantly, we are looking to have some really good performances.”
