‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’
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The FIFA U15 World and Festival sign in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo - Courtesy of fifa.com
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The FIFA U15 World and Festival sign in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo - Courtesy of fifa.com
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Jamaica U15s in action during the qualification rounds for the FIFA World Cup and Festival. Photo - File
Jamaica Under-15 assistant coach Lewin Purser has identified quicker decision-making as a key area for improvement for the young Reggae Boyz following the team’s FIFA Under-15 World Cup campaign, which concluded today against El Salvador.
Jamaica wrapped up their tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a 63rd-place playoff against El Salvador that kicked off at 1:15 a.m. Jamaica time.
The young Boyz entered the match with a record of four wins and five defeats, having endured a difficult run during the tournament phase of the competition.
Purser said that while the World Cup has exposed the team to new opponents and experiences, it has also highlighted areas that require improvement.
“The world is catching up in football. Everybody can play, and we are just hoping to learn all we can from this tournament,” he said.
“Playing outside of Concacaf, we have seen world-class teams. This is our first time playing against Europeans and Africans. Normally, it’s just Concacaf or Caribbean teams,” he continued.
The Boyz opened their campaign in Group AB with consecutive victories over the US Virgin Islands, Cuba, Sri Lanka, and Togo.
However, those proved to be their only wins of the tournament as they subsequently lost to Czechia, Portugal, Malaysia, Congo, and Haiti.
Purser believes the difference in tempo reinforced a longstanding concern regarding the development of Caribbean footballers.
He said the Boyz must become more accustomed to reading the game and making decisions more quickly on the field.
“What we have always been preaching to the youngsters is that the pace at which we play is not good enough. We have to be thinking the football, making quicker decisions,” he said.
“The time we normally take in the Caribbean to play, we do not have that luxury at this level. We have to do everything at high intensity, high pace. Everything, you have to do it quickly.”
LESSONS LEARNT
Despite the challenges, Purser believes the World Cup experience will contribute significantly to the players’ development.
He said they will continue to improve once they apply the lessons learned from the tournament to their future training sessions and matches.
“We just have to learn from this experience that FIFA has given us. It’s a valuable one, and we can only grow going forward.”
gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com