Brown Books Jamaica into World Cup Final Round Qualifiers
Arnett Gardens FC striker scores against minnows to take Reggae Boyz closer to showpiece tournament
Warner Brown’s 17th-minute header was enough to secure maximum points for Jamaica to secure their place in the CONCACAF final qualifying round with a match to spare.
The Reggae Boyz outplayed hosts British Virgin Islands, but only netted a 1-0 success at the AO Shirley Recreation Ground in Road Town on Saturday.
Fresh from their exploits at the invitational Unity Cup tournament in London, having finished runner-up to Nigeria, it was back to the business of the World Cup qualifiers.
Jamaica head coach Steve McClaren brought back a sprinkling of his big guns, including influential skipper Andre Blake between the sticks, against a side ranked by FIFA outside the world’s top 100.
The Arnett Gardens FC hot-shot, utilised as the sole target man and supported by a trio of secondary strikers, polished off Demarai Gray’s cross to find the top right corner from Jamaica’s first real attack.
Home keeper Frankie Beckles denied Jon Russell from doubling the tally seven minutes later. Greg Leigh’s cross was met with a header that should have been converted, but was directed towards the top centre of the goalmouth and into Beckles’ hands.
Lively Joshua Bertie set up a terrific opportunity for BVI to snatch an equaliser just before the half-time whistle, but Blake pulled off an impressive save to prevent Jerry Wiltshire from squaring matters.
LACKING CONVICTION
More out of desperation than confidence, the opening half closed with an ambitious 35-yarder from Richard King that Beckles prevented from nestling into the bottom left corner.
BVI head coach David Perez made a pair of half-time switches, bringing on usual captain Troy Caesar to strengthen the defence and Lisbon-born forward Hugo Costa Liziario.
This introduction of fresh legs almost paid off immediately. Bertie again outfoxed the Jamaica defence, to provide Tyler Forbes with a chance to level the score. The England-based semi-pro winger’s effort from the left side of the box was saved in the bottom left corner by Blake.
Kaheim Dixon was finding it tricky with the defensive line quick to block his shots, and was replaced by Leon Bailey as part of McClaren’s double substitution on 56 minutes. Goal hero Brown was hauled off with Romario Williams given a run out.
DENIED BY WOODWORK
Williams hit the post just quarter-of-an-hour after arriving, seconds after another double switch by McClaren. Joel Latibeaudiere came on for injured King, with Kasey Palmer a tactical exchange for Jon Russell.
Beckles had few problems dealing with any Jamaica threats, saving Damion Lowe’s header from Bailey’s cross on 77 minutes.
With the Boyz being so ineffective, and having expected to drum up a cricket score against the minnows, McClaren made one last late roll of the dice by throwing on Dwayne Atkinson for Renaldo Cephas to bolster the attack.
Yet there was little goalmouth excitement at either end of the pitch, and when referee Bryan Lopez blew the final whistle there were smiles on many of the Jamaican players’ faces.
BVI bowed out bravely in their final qualifying match, having negotiated their way from the preliminaries to the second round. Group games proved a step too far for Perez’s troops, and their outing against the Boyz was arguably their best display in Group E.
SIX APPEAL
Jamaica became the sixth side to reach the final qualifying stage, which will be tackled from September to November, and host Guatemala on Tuesday in a clash that will determine who wins Group E. The Boyz require victory as they have inferior goal difference to Guatemala.
Curacao and Haiti have qualified from Group C, Nicaragua and Panama will progress from Group D, with Guatemala and the Boyz navigating their way out of Group E.
The final qualifiers comprise three groups of four teams on a round-robin basis, with group winners booking their berth for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
There’s a second shot for the best two runners-up to join co-hosts Canada, Costa Rica and the United States for next year, as they have the opportunity to progress through a FIFA play-off tournament.
MANAGERIAL BATTLE
McClaren is likely to switch things around Guatemala next week when he takes on their wily Mexican manager Luis Fernando Tena for an intriguing contest, as the pair will meet at this month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup finals.
The Boyz failed to fire on all cylinders against BVI, a plethora of players appearing to have tried legs after the bruising battles against Ghana and Nigeria at the Unity Cup.
They will need to step up at least a couple of gears for their showdown with Guatemala at Kingston’s National Stadium, which is the last chance for numerous players to persuade McClaren that they should be selected for Gold Cup duty.
Sadly on this showing in the BVI, not many players will get a chance to shine at the Gold Cup when the Boyz tackle Guadeloupe, Guatemala and Panama in the initial group games.
JAMAICA: Blake – Leigh, Holgate, King, Lembikisa (King, 69) – Lowe, Russell (Palmer, 69) – Cephas (Atkinson, 82), Gray, Dixon (Bailey, 56) – Brown (Williams, 56). Subs: Davis, Waite, Bell, Latibeaudiere, Ming, Morrison, Campbell, Burrell.
CONCACAF GROUP E
1. Guatemala 9pts (+11 goal difference)
2. Jamaica 9pts (+3)
3. Dominican Republic 3pts (+1)
4. Dominica 3pts (-4)
5. British Virgin Islands 0pts (-11)
CONCACAF GROUP E
June 10 2025 | Dominican Republic vs Dominica, Jamaica vs Guatemala
June 7 2025 | British Virgin Islands 0 Jamaica 2, Guatemala 4 Dominican Republic 2
June 4 2025 | Dominica 3 British Virgin Islands 0
June 12 2024 | Dominican Republic 4 British Virgin Islands 0
June 9 2024 | Dominica 2 Jamaica 3
June 8 2024 | British Virgin Islands 0 Guatemala 3
June 6 2024 | Guatemala 6 Dominica 0, Jamaica 1 Dominican Republic 0
TEAMS THAT CAN REACH CONCACAF QUALIFYING FINAL ROUND
(September, October & November 2025)
Group A | Bermuda, Cuba, Honduras
Group B | Costa Rica, Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago
Group C | Curacao and Haiti have qualified
Group D | Nicaragua and Panama have qualified
Group E | Jamaica and Guatemala have qualified
Group F | El Salvador, Puerto Rica, Suriname
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