MONTREAL, Quebec - Montreal Impact goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts has been selected by the Jamaican National Team for the upcoming third round of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying phase. Ricketts will be with the team from May 27 to June 14.
WATCH: Ricketts proud to represent Jamaica
“It’s always nice to represent your country," said Ricketts. "It brings the best out of you when you play the other worlds best. It’s a dream to play in the World Cup, so it’s an honour to be called to play for the qualifiers. This may be my last chance to qualify for the World Cup, so I just want to help the team succeed. We have a good team with quality players based in Europe, MLS and all over the world, so I think we have a good chance to qualify.”
“It’s always positive for a player to go and play for your national team,” said Impact head coach Jesse Marsch. “It gives you confidence. I’m happy for him and I think he’s been in really good form. We expect him to be true to that with the Jamaican National Team.”
Jamaica, currently ranked 51st in FIFA’s World Ranking, will play two friendlies against Panama on May 27 and June 2. The team will then face Guatemala in its first game of the World Cup Qualifying stage on June 8 followed by a match against Antigua & Barbuda on June 12.
Along with Antigua & Barbuda and Guatemala, the United States is the other team in Group A with Jamaica.
Since 1998, Ricketts has played in 85 games for the Jamaican National Team. He is also vice-captain of the team. He most notably represented his country in 24 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in 2002, 2006 and 2010. He also participated in the 2009 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cups.
Ricketts has played all 14 games for the Impact this season, earning three shutouts over all competitions and is currently second with 59 shots against and fifth amongst MLS goalkeepers with 38 saves.
