Michail Antonio, Leon Bailey and Ravel Morrison will not be available for Jamaica’s World Cup qualifying opener against Mexico on Thursday as the Jamaica Football Federation tries to navigate a Covid-19 minefield laid by the United Kingdom and other European countries.
With Jamaica at risk of not having its English-based players available for its World Cup qualifying matches because of the United Kingdom’s red-list restrictions, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) says it has adopted a strategy that will help players returning from red-listed countries avoid lengthy quarantine periods that could ultimately hurt their respective clubs.
According to the current coronavirus re-entry rules, individuals returning from red-list destinations face a mandatory 10 days of hotel quarantine on return to England. The matter is compounded by the fact that Premier League clubs have argued that in addition to the 10 days’ quarantine, the players will also need more time to regain fitness and could miss a number of games.
However, with the World Cup qualifiers set to begin this Thursday, the JFF believes it has found a way to avoid those challenges.
“With three matches in the first window of the World Cup Qualifying campaign and the uncertainties surrounding players based in England, the Jamaica Football Federation has entered its vast player pool to compose the current squad of players,” the federation said in a statement Monday.
“Some of the players will be utilized in the two away games versus Mexico and Costa Rica, while some will only be activated for the home game against Panama. There are others who will play critical roles in all three encounters.”
As such, the squad selected to play Mexico on September 2 will assemble in Mexico City on Tuesday. Some members will fly directly to the Mexican capital from their host country while the rest will be flown by charter flight along with the technical and administrative staff. The players based in the USA arrived on the island on Sunday. The flight leaves Jamaica at 1 pm on Tuesday.
Most of the players based in England are scheduled to arrive today (Monday), the JFF said, some of whom will be activated for the first game.
After the game on September 5 versus Panama at the National Stadium, the majority of the England-based players will return home on September 6. The squad to play Costa Rica on September 8 will leave for San Jose by charter flight on the same day.
Please see attached the full list of invited players for the three games. Players with an asterisk will be available to represent the country on September 2 against Mexico.
The JFF said it is satisfied that the best available players have been called up despite the extraordinary challenges and is fully confident that both players and staff will give an excellent representation for the Qatar Motivated campaign.
Andre Blake *, Dillon Barnes*, Dennis Taylor*, Ethan Pinnock, Damion Lowe*, Adrian Mariappa * Pending, Liam Moore, Alvas Powell*, Wesley Harding, Kemar Lawrence *, Amarii Bell, Ravel Morrison, Daniel Johnson, Devon Williams *, Kevin Stewart, Bobby Reid, Junior Flemmings *, Leon Bailey, Jamal Lowe, Michail Antonio, Kemar Roofe, Cory Burke *, Shamar Nicholson *, Oniel Fisher *, Blair Turgott * Norman Campbell *, Ricardo Morris*, Anthony Grant *, Tyreek Magee *, Lamar Walker *, Peter Vassell *, Javon East *, Romario Williams *, Javain Brown *, Richard King *.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Sporting director Ashworth leaves Manchester United
Dan Ashworth has left his role as Manchester United's sporting director just five months after joining the club.
United pushed hard for the highly rated Ashworth, who was in place at Newcastle United, and spent five months on gardening leave before officially starting with the Red Devils, who reportedly paid significant compensation to his former club.
His first day on the job came on July 1, but now just five months later, he has left Old Trafford by mutual agreement.
"We would like to thank Dan for his work and support during a transitional period for the club and wish him well for the future," a statement from the club read.
Ashworth led United's recruitment drive over the summer as the club aimed to back Erik ten Hag, who they subsequently dismissed at the end of October.
Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte were all brought in to boost United's senior squad.
United lost 3-2 to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, as new boss Ruben Amorim suffered a second straight defeat, and his first at Old Trafford.
That loss left United in 13th in the Premier League.
Ancelotti confident Real Madrid are nearing their best
Carlo Ancelotti is confident Real Madrid are making their way back to their best after their 3-0 victory over Girona.
Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Kylian Mbappe were on target on Saturday, moving to within two points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona.
Since losing 4-0 to Barca at the end of October, Madrid have won four of their last five LaLiga matches, with their sole defeat coming against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.
But Ancelotti feels his team are rediscovering their best form.
"Bellingham has scored his fifth goal in a row. He's back and in good form. Mbappe scored too," he said.
"We have to hang in there, little by little we're coming back.
"We had to hold on at the beginning because Girona pushed hard. We did a good job collectively, and then we handled the advantage well. The team had more clarity and more ideas. I think the second half went very well."
The Italian also praised Guler's performance after the Turkish youngster scored Madrid's second goal.
"He wasn't good in the first half but in the second half he scored a fantastic goal," Ancelotti said.
"What I want to highlight is his work. He runs a lot and helps the team. His goal takes a bit of pressure off him.
"He's a young player with a lot of pressure around him and it's good for him to take a bit of pressure off."
An injury to Bellingham was a cause for concern for Madrid, but Ancelotti allayed any major fears.
"[Bellingham] is fine, he is available," said the Italian. "We've had the muscle injury to [Benjamin] Mendy but the rest of it is just knocks, nothing more,"
Mbappe's goal brought up his 200th in the top five leagues, while Bellingham has scored in five consecutive league games in a single season for the first time.
Motta not satisfied as Juve draw again, admits tactical errors
Thiago Motta was far from satisfied with Juventus' performance as they drew 2-2 with Bologna on Saturday, though he did hail the Bianconeri's character as they recovered to remain unbeaten in Serie A.
Juve fought back from 2-0 down in Turin, with 20-year-old forward Samuel Mbangula scoring a stoppage-time leveller from outside the area.
The Bianconeri are the only side yet to taste defeat in the Italian top flight this campaign, but with nine of their 15 matches finishing level, they remain seven points adrift of leaders Atalanta.
"The positive point was the reaction. We pulled back a game which was in a very bad position," Motta said at his post-match press conference.
"We are not satisfied with the result or even with what we have done. I have to thank the guys for the heart and the courage that they showed."
Motta refused to criticise his players' attitude, instead acknowledging he made tactical errors as Bologna attempted as many shots as Juve (10) and won the expected goals (xG) battle, 0.93 to 0.87.
"No player went missing. It was a tactical problem and that's my fault," Motta said. "We were not able to overcome the pressure. Today was complicated and we went into difficulty, then we came back but we can't be satisfied.
"I repeat, we are not satisfied but this must make us stronger."
Motta knows the Turin giants need to start turning draws into wins if they are to climb the table, adding: "We have to improve to be in the position where we want to be, which is not the one we have today.
"We have to deal with this situation by moving forward and improving for the next game on Wednesday."
Manchester City visit Turin for a Champions League tie on Wednesday, with both sides on eight points and outside the automatic qualification places.
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