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ENGLISH-born midfielders Courtney Clarke and Brandon Cover say they’re looking forward to playing in Jamaica for the first time as they gear up for the start of the Reggae Boyz campaign in the Concacaf Nations League this weekend. Interim Head Coach Rudolph Speid could hand the pair their home debuts at the National Stadium when the national men’s team take on Guatemala on Friday and Honduras on Monday in their first two of four games in their group-stage campaign. Clarke, a 23-year-old midfielder who plays for Walsall FC in England’s fourth tier, earned his first caps for Jamaica at the Unity Cup in London in May. He also scored his first goal in the 2-0 semi-final win over India. Clarke, whose parents are Jamaican, says representing the country was a memorable experience. “That was a special day for me and my family. I’ve always dreamed of that,” he said. “It was just perfect timing. I don’t really score many goals but I’m still adding it into my catalogue. That was a big moment and it was just the best timing for me. I’ve got to thank my family and God for the best timing.” Cover, 22, plays for Rotherham in England’s fourth tier, and has a longer history with the national team than Clarke, having made his debut during a friendly international against Jordan in 2023. He also played for Jamaica at the Central America and Caribbean Games in El Salvador that year. Cover, whose father is Jamaican, earned a recall at the Unity Cup, playing the full 90 minutes in the win over India and the 3-0 loss to Nigeria in the final. He is hoping to be a mainstay in the team similar to veteran centre back Damion Lowe. “I just want to keep racking them up [appearances] for Jamaica. I want to be like Nana [Lowe], I want to get the 80 caps, the 100 caps. I just want to keep fighting for more, striving for more,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed it, I just want to thank Coach Speid for giving me the opportunity to play for Jamaica because that’s all I’ve wanted to do since I was a youth and now I get to do it. I want to repay my faith in him, my family and everyone.”

Reggae Boyz Assistant Coach Michael Donaldson (left) having a conversation with midifielder Brandon Cover in their game against Nigeria at the Unity Cup in London in May.

Clarke and Cover have been to Jamaica before but have never played a competitive game on the island. They’re looking forward to playing in front of the local support at the National Stadium in the coming days. “It’s going to be even more special being at home. Seeing my family that’s watched me grow over the years, that’s watched me from when I was younger to now seeing me play for the nation, it’s just a really special moment for me,” Clarke said. “I just love the way Jamaicans are so passionate about football and I just want to show them that they’ve got a new player here that’s going to excite them and get them off their feet and show that we can do this and go further.” Cover said, “It would mean everything. I think I’ve got loads of family coming as well, I’ve got 20 plus people coming so, I just want everyone to come to the stadium and support us and it’ll mean the whole world to me. I expect the stadium to be loud and supportive and I’m just ready to go really for the first game versus Guatemala.” After the home games against Guatemala and Honduras, the Reggae Boyz travel to El Salvador next Friday before closing out the group away to Honduras on October 5. Jamaica need to finish top two in the group, which also consists of Suriname and Martinique, to advance to the quarter-finals where they will face one of the top four teams in Concacaf, Mexico, USA, Canada or Panama. Clarke and Cover say the team fully understand the importance of the matches. “The aim is really to win all of them and that’s what we’re going to do,” Clarke said. “We’re going to try to do our best but we just have to go in with the mentality of ‘we are Jamaica’ and no one will stand in our way to win so we’re all going to work together and train hard this week and prepare right.” “We’ve got to climb up in the FIFA rankings, but it’s one game at a time so we’ll focus on Guatemala first,” Cover said. “Hopefully, we get that win, play really well and then on to the next so [I’m] really looking forward to it.