Soca Warriors to play Jamaica in two friendlies

THE Trinidad and Tobago Football Association has confirmed that the Soca Warriors will play the Reggae Boyz Jamaica in two international friendlies on February 6 and 9 in Montego Bay and Kingston respectively.

The match on February 6 will take place at the Montego Bay Sports Complex at 8.30 pm (TT time). The fixture on February 9 in Kingston will be at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex at 9 pm.

Jamaica and TT are using the matches in preparation for the CONCACAF Gold Cup prelims, which is slated for March.

TT will face Cuba away on March 21 and home on March 25. Head coach Dwight Yorke will announce his squad for the friendlies, which are being played outside of the FIFA window, later this month.

TTFA president Kieron Edwards said, “We extend our gratitude to the Jamaica Football Federation for hosting us and providing this opportunity for both nations to compete, prepare and grow together.

“These matches are crucial for our preparations as we look ahead to the Gold Cup preliminaries in March. They will give our head coach, Dwight Yorke, an invaluable opportunity to assess a broader pool of players and fine-tune our preparations for the challenges ahead,” Edwards told TTFA Media.

“We know how popular the Trinidad and Tobago/Jamaica rivalry is at all levels and we expect these two matches to serve its purpose as it relates to overall preparations."

President of the Jamaica Football Federation Michael Ricketts spoke about the importance of these fixtures.

“Our head coach Mr McClaren expressed from last year a desire for an opportunity to analyse the domestic-based players on the island and we have worked assiduously to arrange these fixtures and camps which will take place leading into these games.”

“This is the 3rd year in a row we have kicked off with games vs Trinidad and each year has been beneficial."

Both countries met in two friendlies in TT last March with Jamaica winning the opener 1-0 at Hasely Crawford Stadium, before the second match drew 0-0 at Larry Gomes. In 2023, also in March, TT won 1-0 in Montego Bay on a Reon Moore stike, before a 0-0 draw followed in the second game at the National Stadium, Kingston.