LILLE, France – A sold-out crowd of 45,000 spectators are expected at the newly erected Stade Pierre Mauroy today when the Reggae Boyz engage France in their fourth and final friendly international.

It will be the final warm-up game for the 1998 World Cup champions, who will depart for 2014 World Cup Finals in Brazil on Tuesday, and the game will be televised internationally.

Reggae Boyz Captain Rodolph Austin told the Sunday Observer yesterday that every player wants a piece of the action and is raring to go.

“Everyone is happy, and everyone if looking forward to it to be honest. Everyone wants to play against France. It is a big team, it is a big stage for the players, so I think everyone is pumped up for it.”

Austin, the man who led Leeds United for the first half of last season’s League Championship, added that the Boyz do not fear the mighty ‘Les Bleus’. In fact, he has urged his teammates to use this opportunity to showcase their talent, play freely, but with discipline, and enjoy the game.

“I don’t think we fear them, it’s 11 players versus 11 players. Yes, it is a good team, but the ball is round, and this is football, where anything can happen, so we just have to see what they have to offer. We can’t just rush out, we have to be solid and slowly take the game to them.

“Team-wise we have to stay strong and steady, but at the same time respect them and express ourselves, because it is a big opportunity for every player to play against a team like this, where we can express ourselves and market ourselves. Forty-five thousand people will be in the stadium.”

In reflecting on the games played so far, the skipper noted that the team performs better when it plays freely.

” (In) the game against Serbia, we started a bit shakily, then we got into the game in the second half and you can see when the players free up themselves and start to express themselves, it is a better team. And when you have players like Simon Dawkins and Joel Grant and those who can carry the ball it is very exciting to watch.

“So we just have to play freely, and when we attack we should express ourselves, and when we defend, we should do our jobs properly.”

Austin, who celebrated his 29th birthday last Sunday, and who formerly represented SK Brann in Norway, believes that the Boyz are beginning to gel as a unit. But he was quick to point out that players and supporters should not get ahead of themselves just yet.

“The Switzerland game you see that we are gelling together as a team. It was a solid performance, and it is slowly growing. And in the Egypt game they didn’t like when we ran at them, and we did. It was a good result. We should have won, but gradually we are getting better and better, so we need to keep improving as a team.

“I don’t want us to get distracted or get ahead of ourselves, but I’m satisfied with our progress at the end of the day.”

— Ian Burnett