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McClaren seeks boost for Unity Cup final
May 30, 2025
With the Reggae Boyz set to face Nigeria's Super Eagles on Saturday in the final of the Unity Cup, Jamaica's head coach Steve McClaren will be hoping to have his full complement of players on hand.
Jamaica will face Nigeria after both teams scored respective wins over Trinidad and Tobago and Ghana in the semi-finals of the Unity Cup.
Jamaica turned back Caribbean rivals Trinidad & Tobago 3-2 on Tuesday, while Nigeria got the better of Ghana 2-1 on Wednesday.
McClaren is hopeful that three players, Dwayne Atkinson, Javon East and Warner Brown who had not joined the squad in time for the opening game, will be available.
"We hope to get a couple who might come out to give us reinforcements for Saturday with Warner Brown being one of them," McClaren had said in his post-match interview following the win over Trinidad.
"That will be a nice asset for us, so hopefully we'll recover. We have a couple days to prepare and be in a better shape for a tough game on Saturday."
McClaren further explained that much of their preparation has been on assessing their opponents, to ensure they enter the match fully prepared.
"We've adapted really well from what preparation we've done so it is just to get an idea of the strengths of their team, their formation, their strongest players, strengths and weaknesses," McClaren said. "It is just the usual scouting."
The Reggae Boyz are set to face a difficult challenge as Nigeria are expected to field several of their marquee players, including AC Milan's Samuel Chukwueze, Bayer Leverkusen's Nathan Tella, Leicester City's Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho of Middlesborough.
The match will be the first meeting between the two nations since 2009 where they had played out a scoreless draw.
Jamaica and Nigeria had also previously met at the last staging of the Unity Cup in 2004, where Nigeria had walked away 2-0 victors.
The final will be the second match of a doubleheader, with Trinidad & Tobago and Ghana taking part in the third-place playoff as the curtain raiser.
The third-place match is set to kick off at 6:30 a.m. Jamaica time, with the final set for 11 a.m.
