Here is Swede Doldes who will try to take Jamaica to the World Cup finals in 2026.
John Wall did not hesitate when he was offered a job as assistant captain of the national team “Reggie Boys”.
It would be incredible to take Jamaica to the restroom, says Wall.
recently appointed Lars Lagerback Iceland’s former right-hand man, Heimer Halgrimsson, to Jamaica’s new national team captain. With him is the former captain of the Iceland national team, Swede John Wall.
Wall has a background in the AIK academy, but was also part of Hasse Backe’s captaincy staff in the Finnish national team when Backe was captain of the Finland national team. Additionally, the 41-year-old Wall was coach of Nachoping and was in charge of LB07.
When the “Reggae Boyz” called, there was no hesitation.
– No, it wasn’t. You can safely say I was surprised. I’ve been to Jamaica before for educational purposes and kept in touch a bit with some of the associations there. But I didn’t think they would call after six years and ask me if I wanted to become the assistant captain of the national team, he says.
Did you need a cool down period?
No, it went quickly. Everything went well, I checked the beds. They’ve done this thing before with Finland, so I know what to get myself into. At the same time, I feel it will be a very inspiring task for me.
Did you deal with anyone before you took the job?
– I called some people I know in football and they heard from me. I called Hasse Backe, among other things. And everyone said the same thing. Just drive. So there was no doubt.
What exactly would your role look like?
– I will be the assistant captain of the federation and also take care of the Olympic team. It can be compared to the U-23 team, where the goal is the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. Then I will call myself the “Chief of Talent” as it comes to focusing on developing young players.
What drew you to Jamaica?
Concacaf is the first Swede to train in Jamaica. It’s a part of the world where I think there are many young players with high potential. There are also many players who have Jamaican passports, but have not yet chosen which national team they will play for. It will also be a challenge to get players to choose to play for Jamaica.
– Then to be part of a project towards WC 2026. That would be very exciting. My job is long term and it was great to be playing Jamaica in the World Cup.
I lost to Argentina in the first match, how was it?
– We hardly had time to meet the guys. And we had a short training camp for just two days before the match. So there was a lot of focus on defensive play. I think we stood up well. But then Lionel Messi came in 20 minutes from time and scored two quick goals to make it 3-0.
– But it clearly felt positive and a good experience for us.
Relying on the English Premier League players
Wall and Hallgrimsson will beat stars such as Michel Antonio at West Ham and Leon Bailey at Aston Villa. Players such as BK Häcken’s Blair Turgott, former Östersund player and former great talent Ravel Morrison are also on the team. Since WC 2026 takes place in Canada, USA and Mexico, these teams qualify directly. This makes it easier for Jamaica to advance from the playoffs as the Trio side avoids.
It’s going to be tough to get to WC regardless, but the three teams qualify straight away. We obviously hope to get to the 2026 World Cup, but that’s a long way off. We will face Mexico in March in the equivalent of the Nations League and then next year we will face the Gold Cup. It is similar to a playoff in the European Championship.
What development potential do you see in the Jamaica squad?
For us, it’s about scoring more goals in every game. to increase this average. We’ve discussed a lot about how to get there, but the important thing is that the average height on the team is pretty high. We have five players over 192cm tall. We should make better use of that in fixed situations.
How does the rest of the year look to you?
– Now I have to form an opinion about the players in the team. There will be a lot of video watching, but I will also see a lot of players live. There are a lot of people playing in Europe, so there will be people who will travel.