Assistant coach of Jamaica’s Under-17 football team, Vassell Reynolds, says the Junior Reggae Boyz have been drawn in a difficult group for this year’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup, but remains confident that the team can perform well at the tournament.Jamaica have been drawn in Group E alongside Italy, Côote d'Ivoire, and Uzbekistan for the competition, which is scheduled to run from November 19 to December 13 in Qatar.“It is a difficult group, but it was expected that we would have been drawn in a tough group based on our rankings, so it is not a surprise to us really,” said Reynolds. Despite the challenging draw, Reynolds added that Jamaica have enough talent within the squad to compete strongly against the world’s top youth teams.“It will be very challenging, but from the get-go once we qualified, we figured that we had the potential to do well because we have a team that is very good, and we do not plan to go to the World Cup to make up numbers., So we are going to go there and compete as best as possible,” he said.The 48-team tournament format will see the top two teams from each group advancing automatically to the Round of 32, along with the eight best third-placed teams.Reynolds pointed out that the new format gives Jamaica added belief that they can progress beyond the group stage.“Based on the setup where you have 32 teams qualifying from the 48-team tournament and eight best third-placed teams going through with the top two teams, we are very confident that we can be as competitive as any other team even though we recognise that it is a difficult group,” he said. However, Reynolds stated that proper preparation and planning will be crucial to Jamaica’s chances of advancing to the second round of the competition. “Based on the qualification, we have good potential within the squad, so with the right preparation now and good planning, we are still of the view that we are not going to the World Cup to make up numbers, and we will always be challenging for a place in the Round of 32 even though it is a difficult group on paper,” he said.Reynolds shared that all their opponents in the group have been doing well in their various youth competitions, but stated that Jamaica also have a lot of quality within the squad. “The Italians, even though they have not done well at the senior level, have had a good run at the junior level. Uzbekistan has been doing well in terms of youth development for the past six to eight years and, of course, Côote d'Ivoire are one of the top youth teams in that region,” he said.“So these are very difficult teams, but we are confident in our abilities, and I think that we can be very competitive in this group,” Reynolds added. FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026 drawGroup A: Qatar, Panama, Egypt, GreeceGroup B: Korea Republic, CAF 1, New Caledonia, EcuadorGroup C: Argentina, Australia, CAF 2, DenmarkGroup D: France, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, UruguayGroup E: Italy, Jamaica, Côte d’Ivoire, UzbekistanGroup F: Senegal, Croatia, Cuba, TajikistanGroup G: Mali, New Zealand, Belgium, VietnamGroup H: Spain, China PR, Fiji, MoroccoGroup I: Brazil, Republic of Ireland, Tanzania, Costa RicaGroup J: USA, Montenegro, Chile, AlgeriaGroup K: Mexico, Romania, Cameroon, VenezuelaGroup L: Japan, Colombia, Serbia, Honduras