Joyous Jamaica Bounce Back to Topple Bermuda
Reggae Boyz need to improve for back-to-back World Cup qualifying matches next month
Jamaica are in charge of their own destination in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, after last night’s results went in favour of the Reggae Boyz.
Following an insipid defeat at Curacao that saw Jamaica slip to second in the group B table, the Boyz delivered the knockout blow to Bermuda with a comfortable 4-0 triumph inside Kingston’s National Stadium.
Jamaica, who were expected to soar past the group’s whipping boys with aplomb, were given a confidence boost before kick off. Dwight Yorke’s Trinidad & Tobago had held table-topping Curacao to a 1-1 draw, meaning that the Boyz only needed a straightforward win over basement side Bermuda to return to the top of the table.
It took an 11-minute spell midway through the first half to topple the minnows. An own goal from Dante Leverock broke the deadlock, with Bobby Decordova-Reid and Shamar Nicholson scoring in swift succession.
Second-half substitute Dujuan Richards polished things off, although the Boyz should have been more ruthless in goal to drum up a cricket score. They must improve their finishing skills if they want to defeat Curacao and/or Trinidad & Tobago.
Jamaica head coach Steve McClaren surprisingly switched his tactical formation to be more defensive than their lame display in Curacao, employing a 4-2-3-1 formation and making a handful of changes.
Dante Leverock forced the first save of the game in the ninth minute, unleashing an ambitious shot that Jamaica shotstopper Andre Blake ably dealt with.
Five minutes later Nicholson was unable to find sufficient power to head Kasey Palmer’s cross into the box, steering the ball into the safe hands of Dale Eve.
Wayward finishing from the Boyz started to reveal frustration from the home supporters, before two goals in quick succession calmed their nerves.
Leverock inadvertently headed home a free-kick past Eve on 24 minutes, and less than a 100 seconds later the Boyz doubled their tally. Renaldo Cephas picked out Decordova-Reid with a superb cross from the left wing, with the ball ending up in the bottom left corner from close range.
Kaheim Dixon tried his luck on the half-hour mark, but his angled effort was stopped by bombarded keeper Eve.
After Nicolson’s tap-in dented Bermuda’s hopes with a third strike on 35 minutes, the Boyz peppered the visitors goalmouth. Yet Eve did well to deny Dixon and Decordova-Reid before the half-time whistle.
Jamaica pushed for further goals after the turnaround, when the contest became one-way traffic. The hosts squandered a hatful of simplistic chances and found Eve in top form.
Despite their endeavours to extend their lead, McClaren decided to throw on Richards and Jon Russell to shake-up the attack just after the hour-mark.
Karoy Anderson and Tyreece Campbell were soon also given a run-out, which helped to reap the reward of a spectacular 76th-minute goal for the Boyz.
Richards, a last-gasp replacement for injured Demarai Gray, dribbled his way towards the gaping goalmouth. Despite being surrounded by defenders in the box, he thundered his effort into the bottom left corner past stunned Eve for game over.
Battered Bermuda did come close to scoring with only their second shot on target, but Blake prevented Zeiko Lewis’ stoppage time long-range effort.
Although the victory lifts the Boyz back to group B leaders, they will need to move up a few gears if they want to qualify for next year’s World Cup finals.
The CONCACAF World Cup final round qualifiers remain wide open with each team set to tackle two more matches to determine the three group leaders who automatically qualify for the prestigious tournament next year.
All four nations from group A can top their group, while it is a three-team race between Costa Rica, Haiti and Honduras to win group C.
Group B will go down to the wire after Trinidad & Tobago battled their way to a 1-1 draw against Curacao at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad.
Both Curacao and Yorke’s T&T will tackle winless Bermuda and Jamaica in their final two qualifiers. The Soca Warriors host the Boyz on 13 November, when Curacao play Bermuda. Six days later the big finale will see T&T face Bermuda, while Jamaica tackle Curacao.
These next two games are make-or-break for Jamaica’s 2026 World Cup ambitions, although they could still qualify as two CONCACAF group runners up will progress to the FIFA play-offs.
Finishing third behind Curacao and Trinidad & Tobago will end Jamaica’s hopes of competing in the world’s biggest football competition, and would no doubt end with McClaren being given the boot for their failure.
Jamaica fans will be hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself in the last qualifier. McClaren was sacked by England 18 years ago following their humbling 3-2 home defeat to Croatia, when a draw was sufficient to qualify for the 2008 European Championship.
With virtually a month to prepare for the two showdowns, and some top quality players available again, there is no reason for the Boyz not to reach the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998.
JAMAICA: Blake – Leigh, Pinnock, King, Lembikisa (Fray, 80) – Hayden, Decordova-Reid (Anderson, 72) – Cephas (Campbell, 72), Palmer (Russell, 62), Dixon (Richards, 62) – Nicholson (Dixon, 61) Subs: Bell, Holgate, Cadamarteri, Chambers, Burrell, Lowe, Waite
CONCACAF GROUP A
Last results: El Salvador 0 Panama 1, Suriname 1 Guatemala 1
Remaining Fixtures: Guatemala vs Panama, Guatemala vs Suriname, Panama vs El Salvador, Suriname vs El Salvador
1=. Panama 6pts (+1 goal difference)
1=. Suriname 6pts (+1 goal difference)
3. Guatemala 5pts (0)
4. El Salvador 3pts (-2)
CONCACAF GROUP B
Last results: Jamaica 4 Bermuda 0, Curacao 1 Trinidad & Tobago 1
Remaining Fixtures: Bermuda vs Curacao, Jamaica vs Curacao, Trinidad & Tobago vs Bermuda, Trinidad & Tobago vs Jamaica
1. JAMAICA 9pts (+8)
2. Curacao 8pts (+3 goal difference)
3. Trinidad & Tobago 5pts (+1)
4. Bermuda 0pts (-12)
CONCACAF GROUP C
Last results: Honduras 3 Haiti 0, Costa Rica 4 Nicaragua 1
Remaining Fixtures: Costa Rica vs Honduras, Haiti vs Costa Rica, Haiti vs Nicaragua, Nicaragua vs Honduras
1. Honduras 7pts (+5 goal difference)
2. Costa Rica 6pts (+3)
3. Haiti 5pts (+0)
4. Nicaragua 2pts (-5)
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