McClaren still confident after T&T stalemate

DESPITE A 1-1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday which saw Jamaica falling from the top spot in Group B of Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers, Reggae Boyz head coach Steve McClaren said he is still confident his team can qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“The dream is still alive, one game to go and we have to make it decisive,” McClaren said in his post-match interview.

The Reggae Boyz were held to a stalemate in Port of Spain after a late strike from veteran striker Kevin Molino cancelled out Renaldo Cephas’ opener for Jamaica.

Group standings

The result meant Jamaica fell to second in group standings with 10 points, as a rampaging Curaçao took the lead with 11 points after their 7-0 demolition of Bermuda.

McClaren said while he would have been pleased with a draw ahead of the game, conceding in the final five minutes of regulation time was a major disappointment.

He also said losing Richard King within the first 25 minutes of the game had an impact on the team, as they missed out on his composure around the back.

“Think we started the game well in the first 20 minutes but losing Richard King really affected us,” he said.

“We ended up not playing a lot from the back and through the middle and ending up doing a lot of defending.”

He added, “Trinidad took risks which they had to do, a lot of risks, a lot of balls into our box and just one slip-up and it cost us the equaliser.”

McClaren said he knew Jamaica’s qualification ambitions would come down to the final game against Curaçao at the National Stadium.

He said it will not be an easy game for the Boyz, but is confident they can topple the Dutch Caribbean team.

The last meeting between the two teams went in favour of Curaçao, who defeated the Boyz 2-0 at the Ergilio Hato Stadium.

“We knew it would come down to the last game, and so it will be,” McClaren said.

“It’s not going to be easy. They are a very good team but we know what we got to do, we have to win.

“There is always pressure. If we’d have won tonight then a draw would have been enough, but there is going to be huge pressure and that’s why the fans are going to be important

He continued, “We will try as hard as we possibly can. Football is football and God’s willing, we get everything right and we get the result. The World Cup dream is still on.”

McClaren said one of the boosts ahead of the Curaçao clash is that he will be able to select from his full complement of players.

He explained his team selection for the Trinidad game was done to protect key players who were at risk of missing out on the Curaçao fixture due to yellow card suspensions.

Ready for Tuesday

Having avoided that pitfall, McClaren said his players will be ready for Tuesday’s clash.

“I think the key for me was that we got all the players available. We tried to protect the players with yellow cards so we have them available for the second game. We thought we’d done that and managed the win, but that’s football.”

Jamaica will need to beat Curaçao if they are to claim the automatic qualifying spot in the group.

A draw or a defeat to Curaçao will see the visitors topping the group and qualifying for their first-ever World Cup.

Group B’s final matches will be played on Tuesday with Jamaica playing hosts to Curaçao and Trinidad and Tobago taking on Bermuda.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com