Hall to experiment against El Salvador

Reggae Boyz head coach Paul Hall will show his intent to rebuild the squad when they face El Salvador in Concacaf World Cup qualifying at the National Stadium at 8 this evening.

Hall can use the game to experiment with his squad as the Reggae Boyz are out of contention for a spot at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November.

However, he will still be relying on the experience and leadership of some veteran players like Adrian Mariappa to help the younger players mature into international football.

Mariappa, who has more than 16 years experience as a professional playing in England, has played 60 games for the Reggae Boyz since making his debut in 2012, and Hall says it is important to have the former Watford defender around, so younger players can rely on him for support.

"Mariappa holds my respect as a leader and mentor," Hall said during a press conference on Tuesday. "And that is one of the reasons we have invited him back, because of his leadership.

"He never refuses a camp and when he is not playing, he's always supportive of the players who play. He is an example and he is so important to the group and players like Jamoi Topey and Richard King.

Jamaica has seven points from 11 matches in the round. The team is seventh in the eight-team standings, two points and one place behind El Salvador.

The Central Americans, however, still have something to play for, even though they are eight points behind Panama in fourth on 17 points. There is a mathematical possibility of them finishing in the fourth-place play-off spot if they win their remaining three matches and other results are favourable.

However, Hall, who lost his previous three qualifying games, said he intends to take the game to the opponents, as he wants to end the campaign on a high.

"Every game we try to win," he said. "Every game we step on the field it is because of the importance of winning.

"It is important to get in the win column. It is important that we finish all these games on a positive.

"We have got to respect El Salvador because they can play well. They like to dominate possession. The best way to respect our opponent is to make sure we play a good game of football and make it uncomfortable for El Salvador.

"They are in our environment. We want to make sure they know that they played us. So we are looking to win these three games."

Jamaica will next face Canada away on Sunday, before closing out the campaign against Honduras in Kingston on Wednesday.