Reggae Boyz coach Rudolph Speid is calling Jamal Lowe’s first call-up to the national programme in over a year a possible resoltion to some of the issues the team had in its failed bid for automatic qualification.
Lowe’s last game for the Reggae Boyz came in September of 2024, where he made a cameo appearance against Honduras in a 2-1 win.
Since then, the player has been on the fringes of the national programme and was named in former head coach Steve McClaren’s watch list for the World Cup Qualifiers.
Speid explained that with a number of the Reggae Boyz attackers out of contention, he is confident Lowe has the right profile to plug the gap.
Rumarn Burrell, who made his Reggae Boyz debut last year, has been out through injury since January.
Michail Antonio has recovered from his horror car crash in 2024, and has since made two appearances for Al-Sailiya in the Qatari Stars League.
Shamar Nicholson, another one of the team’s usual striking options, has been omitted from the squad as he has not been playing regular minutes with his club.
“That was one of the positions that we had a lot of issues with, the centre forward position,” Speid explained.
“I mean, Burrell is injured and Michael Antonio played his last competitive game in December 2024. Now, I know that he has played two games since, but that is since we picked the squad.”
Speid said the technical staff has kept a close eye on Lowe’s performances this year and have been impressed with his consistency.
Lowe plays in the EFL Championship with Sheffield Wednesday, and has netted three goals and had three assists across all competitions.
However, four of his six goal contributions have been in the last eight games, which Speid believes is a positive sign.
“Jamal Lowe has been a consistent performer for his team, playing almost every single game. And you know something about him, his stats may not look so enticing at the moment, but guess what? He’s rounding into form at the right moment,” Speid said.
“He’s starting to score goals and make assists.”
Jamaica will face New Caledonia on Thursday in Guadalajara, Mexico, and should they win, will take on DR Congo on March 31 for a spot in the World Cup.
