Brown Brace Hits The Jackpot For Rampant Reggae Boyz
Buoyant Jamaica breeze past Guatemala
Warren Brown sprinkled more of his magic, bagging two goals as Jamaica bossed their CONCACAF World Cup qualifier to thump Guatemala on Tuesday evening.
Brown’s formidable showing inside Kingston’s National Stadium, scoring in each half to add to Jon Russell’s 27th-minute opener, means that head coach Steve McClaren has unearthed a top-class and reliable striker.
It was Brown’s 17th-minute header that steered the side to an edgy 1-0 win at the British Virgin Islands in their previous match, and once again the Arnett Gardens FC hot-shot proved to be Jamaica’s saviour.
The World Cup qualifying Group E showdown with Guatemala was a chance for the sides to size each other up ahead of this month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup meeting. Jamaica required victory to take top spot in the group.
McClaren, whose team has been frustrated by minnows British Virgin Islands last Saturday, was keen for his troops to fire on all cylinders in front of home supporters. He mixed things up, as clearly there had been some tired legs following Jamaica’s exploits at the recent Unity Cup in London.
The midfield attacking trio of Demarai Gray, Isaac Hayden and Jon Russell were employed to offer wingers Leon Bailey and Renaldo Cephas some freedom down the flanks, while Brown was the target man.
Yet 13 almost proved unlucky for the Boyz, with Arquimides Ordonez producing the first solid goal attempt on 13 minutes. Jamaica skipper Andre Blake prevented the effort from finding the bottom right corner.
Five minutes later it was Guatemala shotstopper Nicholas Hagen who was called into action, saving Bailey’s ambitious shot from outside the box.
This jolted the Boyz into action, and suddenly they showed real belief with their vociferous fans urging them on. Two Bailey corners almost resulted in a breakthrough, only for both Damion Lowe and Brown to fire narrowly wide of the target.
Livewire Bailey continued to pump the ball into the area, and provided a pin-point cross for Russell to head into the bottom left corner past helpless Hagen.
Bailey experienced an uncomfortable three-minute spell, twice fluffing his chance to double the tally. He should have buried Russell’s cross, but Hagen was equal to the effort. The Aston Villa ace was then gifted an opportunity to make the scoresheet, after Gray was fouled in the box.
Yet Hagen parried away Bailey’s penalty, directed towards the bottom right corner, with the ever alert Brown quickest to the loose ball to enthusiastically find the back of the net.
A two-goal cushion after 37 minutes dramatically lifted the mood for the hosts and their supporters, with a new-found confidence.
Although the Boyz wasted golden opportunities to score before the hour-mark from a pair of telling crosses from Cephas. Only a few seconds after Brown skied his header, King’s close-range effort hit the right post.
These misses gave Guatemala head coach Luis Fernando Tena some hope, so he swiftly made a double substitution in a bid to drum up more attacking play.
It was Jamaica who found the net rather than the visitors, with a spectacular 73rd-minute strike from Brown. Gray’s low corner picked out the on-rushing Brown, who stabbed the ball in at the near post to complete the rout.
With the result wrapped up, McClaren made a pair of double substitutions to give players valuable minutes under the National Stadium lights.
England-born striker Rumarn Burrell, who had impressed during the Unity Cup semi-final success over Trinidad & Tobago, replaced goal hero Warner with 13 minutes remaining.
The forward, who competes in the third tier for English outfit Burton Albion, almost added a last-gasp fourth goal only for Hagen to prevent his effort from nestling into the bottom left corner.
This welcome victory, especially following such a poor team performance in their previous match, resulted in Jamaica leapfrogging Guatemala to top the group and book their ticket to the final round with a 100% winning record.
Jamaica join Bermuda, Costa Rica, Curacao, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago for the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying final round.
The 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. Matches will be played in September, October and November.
Should the Boyz fail through this route, there’s a second shot for the best two runners-up to reach the World Cup finals through a FIFA play-off tournament.
Jamaica’s dominant display over Guatemala should provide optimism among the squad for tackling this month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup where they face Guadeloupe, Guatemala and Panama in the group phase.
JAMAICA: Blake – Bell, Holgate (King, 41), Lowe, Latibeaudiere – Hayden, Russell (Morrison, 84) – Bailey, Gray (Palmer, 77), Cephas (Campbell, 84) – Brown (Burrell, 77). Subs: Lembikisa, Waite, Lee, Williams, Davis, Atkinson, Dixon.
CONCACAF GROUP E
1. Jamaica 12pts (+6 goal difference)
2. Guatemala 9pts (+8)
3. Dominican Republic 6pts (+6)
4. Dominica 3pts (-9)
5. British Virgin Islands 0pts (-11)
JAMAICA’S CONCACAF GROUP E RESULTS
10 June 2025 | Jamaica 3 Guatemala 0
7 June 2025 | British Virgin Islands 0 Jamaica 1
9 June 2024 | Dominica 2 Jamaica 3
6 June 2024 | Jamaica 1 Dominican Republic 0
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