Reggae Boyz, USA to face-off in Europe

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Mar 01, 2021 06:06 PM | Sports

The Reggae Boyz will ramp up preparations for a significant year that includes the Gold Cup in July and the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying with an International Friendly against the United States on March 25 at Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Kick-off in the rematch of the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup Semifinal is set for 1 p.m. ET.

Due to the current conditions related to the global pandemic, the match will be conducted under the UEFA Return to Play Protocol and be played without fans in the stadium. This will be an official FIFA window, giving head coach Theodore Whitmore the opportunity to call up players based domestically and abroad.

Since 1988, the teams have met 26 times with the USA holding a 16-3-8 overall record. This will be the first encounter in a neutral venue and the first friendly since Jamaica secured a 1-0 win on June 5, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Approximately one month later, the USA raced to a 3-1 win in the semifinal of the 2019 Gold Cup.

Three days later, the U.S. meets Northern Ireland for the first time in more than 70 years.

The March window is a lead-in to two significant competitions in 2021. Jamaica will compete in the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup in July in search of its first confederation title. Prior to that, the Reggae Boyz are expected to play at least one game in June.

Those games will serve as prelude to the start of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying, which will feature an eight-team final round and commence in September of 2021.

Both teams and their staff will operate inside a controlled environment. Everyone entering the controlled environment will undergo multiple COVID-19 tests in advance of traveling, and then will be tested upon arrival and at least every two days during camp. There will be no full team training until the results of all arrival tests are confirmed.