Antonio set to make debut for Jamaica

Published on: 31 August 2021

Michail Antonio was called up for England duty in 2016 and 2017 but never earned a cap

West Ham striker Michail Antonio is set to make his first appearance for Jamaica at the age of 31 in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

He has been named in the Reggae Boyz squad to face Panama in Kingston on Sunday.

Covid travel restrictions will stop him flying to Mexico and Costa Rica for their other qualifiers this month.

Antonio only made himself available for Jamaica this year, having previously sat on the bench for England.

London-born Antonio, who is this season's leading Premier League scorer with four goals in three games so far, was an unused substitute in what was Sam Allardyce's only game in charge of the England team in 2016.

He was again called up to the Three Lions squad by Gareth Southgate the following year, but withdrew from that England squad through injury.

The striker is among 12 British based players, including Rangers' Kemar Roofe, Aston Villa's Leon Bailey and Derby County's Ravel Morrison, who are only available to play against Panama because both Mexico and Costa Rica are on the UK government's red list.

Premier League, Scottish Premiership and English Football League clubs have said they will not release their players for games in red list countries because of the quarantine protocols required on return.

Queens Park Rangers' Dillon Barnes and Swindon Town's Anthony Grant, however, are available for all three games.

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Source: bbc.com

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