Donaldson looking for leaders on field

With late additions to their numbers, Jamaica's Reggae Girlz will begin the Cup of Nations tournament journey with members of the squad looking to make lasting impressions on head coach Lorne Donaldson as he begins to form his group from which his final World Cup roster will be determined.

Jamaica will face Spain at the Industree Group Stadium in Gosford, Australia, tomorrow at 12:10 a.m. Jamaica time in their first-ever international meeting. The tournament is being used in their continuing preparations for this summer's Women's World Cup as they will have the opportunity of competing in Australia, the co-hosts of the tournament five months before the tournament begins.

Jamaica has had to make three changes to the original squad announced in late January with national striker and captain Khadija Shaw opting out because of personal reasons and her replacement Shania Hayles pulling out because of injury. Siobhan Wilson's absence, also because of an injury, resulted in the late call-ups of Kayla McKenna and Tiffany Cameron..

Regarding who will step up in Shaw's absence regarding the captaincy, Donaldson stressed the importance of having several leaders on the field rather than placing the burden on one person.

"The captaincy may be a little overrated, especially in Jamaica. We put a lot of emphasis on the captain but we need leaders on the field and we need people to step up. Not because you have an armband you are the leader on the field. I think we just leaders," Donaldson told STAR Sports.

With Shaw out Donaldson said that it was an opportunity for other players to prove that they can be the options for their World Cup campaign, particularly in defence and midfield.

"It's always good to test our depth and this is one way we can test what we have depth-wise. And it is always a good thing. If I were a player, I would be very excited to come into a situation and see that there is an opportunity and you have to take it," Donaldson said.

Spain, the seventh best team in the world, will have likes of Real Madrid's Esther Gonzales, Pachuca's Jennifer Hermoso and Barcelona's Salma Paralluelo in their attack to test the Jamaican defence.

Spain have won four of their last five matches. The wins include a 2-0 victory over the United States in a friendly international on October 11 last year.