Jamaica Ace Antonio Prepares to Tackle World Cup
Veteran marksman has a shot to put himself in the shop window during back-to-back CONCACAF qualifiers
Michail Antonio is potentially back in business, having been selected for Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz despite being without a club since July.
The 35-year-old, who suffered an horrific car crash last year, was released by West Ham United following the 2024/2025 Premier League campaign.
Although he is a media pundit in England, Antonio has also been sharpening his skills by turning out for the West Ham U21 team. His former club are permitted to field a sprinkling of overage players.
Boyz head coach Steve McClaren, who appears to be on thin ice with certain members of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) following the side’s recent displays and results, requires some strong performances to win over fans as well as the JFF.
McClaren has four key players sidelined because of injury. Jamaica will be missing winger Leon Bailey (thigh), shotstopper Andre Blake (knee), striker Bobby Decordova-Reid (muscle) and defender Joel Latibeaudiere (shoulder).
There’s a recall for Mexico-based Shamar Nicholson, who could be part of a two-pronged attack when the Boyz tackle Bermuda and Trinidad & Tobago in back-to-back CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.
Bermuda will play host inside the Flora Duffy South Field Stadium in Hamilton on 5 September, with what should be an entertaining clash.
Head coach Michael Findlay has got his side firing on all cylinders following Gold Cup defeats to Honduras. Bermuda breezed past Cayman Islands 5-0, and followed it up with plenty of box-to-box action to inflict a shock 2-1 defeat on hosts Cuba 2-1 in June.
Jamaica will lead back to Kingston and the cauldron of their National Stadium for the eagerly awaited visit of Dwight Yorke’s Trinidad & Tobago on 9 September.
Yorke, who applied for the Jamaica manager role but did not even get offered an interview, is struggling to achieve results with his Soca Warriors. He will be determined to show the JFF, by trying to drum up victory, that they made a mistake by overlooking him and choosing McClaren.
Since T&T tasted May’s 3-2 Unity Cup defeat to Jamaica in London, they have been whalloped by Ghana and the United States.
Yorke oversaw two Gold Cup 1-1 stalemates on the spin against Haiti and Saudi Arabia, with their last success the emphatic 6-2 home win over St. Kitts in June.
Mount Pleasant FC are the only Jamaica Premier League team to have players selected by McClaren. He has picked their goalkeeping duo Tafari Chambers and Shaquan Davis, midfielder Jahshaun Anglin and hot-shot Warner Brown.
It is a largely England-based squad, as usual, from former England boss McClaren. Sheffield Wednesday’s Bailey-Tye Cadamarteri, New York Red Bulls’ Kyle Duncan and Inter Miami’s Ian Fray are on the verge of making their international debut for Jamaica.
McClaren can ill-afford a repeat performance of June’s tame displays, when they edged past British Virgin Islands 1-0 and were humiliated 4-1 in the Gold Cup humiliation by Panama.
JAMAICA CONCACAF WORLD CUP QUALIFYING SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Tafari Chambers (Mount Pleasant FC, Jamaica), Shaquan Davis (Mount Pleasant FC, Jamaica), Jahmali Waite (El Paso Locomotive, USA)
Defenders: Amari’i Bell (Charlton Athletic, England), Kyle Duncan (New York Red Bulls), Mason Holgate (Al-Gharafa SC, Qatar), Richard King (St. Mirren, Scotland), Gregory Leigh (Oxford United, England), Dexter Lembikisa (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Damion Lowe (unattached), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford, England)
Midfielders: Karoy Anderson (Charlton Athletic, England). Jahshaun Anglin (Mount Pleasant FC, Jamaica), Ian Fray (Inter Miami, USA), Isaac Hayden (QPR, England), Kevon Lambert (Louisville City, USA), Kasey Palmer (Hull City, England), Jon Russell (Barnsley Town, England)
Strikers: Michail Antonio (unattached), Warner Brown (Mount Pleasant FC, Jamaica), Bailey-Tye Cadamarteri (Sheffield Wednesday, England), Tyreece Campbell (Charlton Athletic, England), Renaldo Cephas (FC Pari NN, Russia), Kaheim Dixon (Crawley Town, England), Demarai Gray (Birmingham City, England), Shamar Nicholson (Tijuana, Mexico)
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