Top things to know
- Jamaica Under-17 head coach Altimont 'Freddie' Butler says the young Reggae Boyz have 'no fear' ahead of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar.
- Jamaica are drawn in Group E with European champions Italy, Côte d'Ivoire and Uzbekistan.
- The tournament will be Jamaica's third appearance at the Under-17 World Cup.
- Jamaica qualified by topping their group at the Concacaf qualifying tournament in Alajuela, Costa Rica, in February.
- Butler plans to use speed and aggression against Italy, expects a like-for-like physical match-up with the African side, and hopes to impose physicality and speed on Uzbekistan.
Jamaica's Under-17 head coach Altimont 'Freddie' Butler says the young Reggae Boyz will carry no fear into next month's FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar, despite a Group E draw that pits them against European champions Italy, Côte d'Ivoire and Uzbekistan.
The tournament will mark Jamaica's third appearance at the Under-17 World Cup. The young Reggae Boyz booked their place by topping their group at the Concacaf qualifying tournament in Alajuela, Costa Rica, in February.
Butler acknowledged the quality of the opposition but argued Jamaica have the tools to compete. "The possibilities are strong because we know the Italians as they are the European champions at the under-17 level, so we have to go there and impose ourselves with our speed and aggression and see how we can push them back, turn it into a foot race, and try to push them back," he said.
Against the African side, Butler expects a more even contest. "The Africans, it will be a like-for-like match-up, and against Uzbekistan, we hope to impose our physicality and our speed. We hope to get a positive result from those games."
He was clear that belief within the camp is high. "There is no fear because we believe that we can go there and do well. We believe in the boys, and the boys are believing in themselves, and I don't think we have any fear right now," Butler said.
At the same time, the coach stressed that he is under no illusion about the difficulty of the group, citing the pedigree of all three opponents. "The group is a very tough group because you will be playing against the European champions, and they will be playing against one of the top teams from the African continent. We will also be against Uzbekistan, and you have to give Uzbekistan credit because they also did well in the World Cup and went to the semi-finals of the Under-20 World Cup a few years ago," he said.
"We are looking forward to that. We will be playing against solid opposition, so we are hoping that we can go there and give a good account of ourselves. We are impressed with our talent because we have good talent here," Butler added.
Jamaica's campaign will test whether that confidence and the team's pace and physicality can translate against some of the strongest youth sides in the world. The coach's message is that the young Reggae Boyz intend to meet the challenge head-on rather than simply contain it.