Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

NATIONAL TECHNICAL director René Simoes said he would continue his mix-and-match process ahead of the crucial World Cup qualifiers later this month as the team departed the island yesterday for two friendly internationals against Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada.

The Reggae Boyz will tackle the Soca Warriors in a return game at the Marvin Lee Stadium tomorrow before flying to Grenada for an encounter next Tuesday.

The first-leg encounter against T&T in March saw the Jamaicans play their way to a disappointing 2-2 draw against a young visiting side.

Without midfielder

After taking part in his first friendly international for Jamaica in two years on Tuesday against St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), the 22-man squad will be without midfielder Andrew Williams as he has been called back to club duty for Major League Soccer (MLS) team Real Salt Lake.

"We would have loved to have Andy but his club told us that would not be possible; however, this gives us the opportunity to look at other players," Simoes told The Gleaner yesterday.

Midfielders Jermaine Johnson, Lee Williamson and Oneil Thompson, who did not feature in Tuesday's friendly international, have been included in the squad.

"We are trying something new. We have some new players, so the games will give us a chance to test the system out," Simoes said.

Ditched 4-4-2 formation

The technical director recently ditched a 4-4-2 formation, which had been adopted by Jamaica in recent times, for a 3-5-2 formation used in the 5-1 thrashing of SVG.

While the coach insists that the move is not necessarily a permanent one, he believes he saw some of its benefits on Tuesday night.

"You have to try new things sometimes. It is not so much moving away from the 4-4-2 as seeing how the team looks with another (system)," the Brazilian said. "I think it gives the team more flexibility and there was more penetration and scoring chances created by the midfield against St Vincent."

Jamaica will officially kick off their World Cup qualification campaign against The Bahamas on June 15 at the National Stadium, with the second-leg game to be played at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium on June 18.

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