Sean A Williams/Contributor

Two weeks have elapsed, yet the wounds of disappointment remain gaping and fresh.

The seismic impact of Jamaica’s failure to qualify directly to the FIFA World Cup 2026—to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico—has been felt far and wide.

For the 35,000 spectators who flowed inside the National Stadium on Saturday, November 18, to witness and share in what was hoped to be another great Jamaican sporting moment, the outcome was a tragic letdown.

Measured by the deluge of heart-wrenching social media reactions in the aftermath, it was clear that those who watched via television and online streams from around the globe were also left heartbroken.

That the Reggae Boyz have a second bite at the proverbial cherry to qualify via an inter-continental play-off tournament set for Mexico next March, seemingly offers little reconciliation for the traumatised fanbase. 

Before the decisive kickoff of their final match of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament, the Boyz had backed themselves into a corner, needing a win at home against Curaçao to book a direct spot in the showpiece slated next summer. Naturally, with throngs of supporters gathered while we played at home, a Jamaican victory was non-negotiable.

But Curaçao — a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands of some 160,000 inhabitants — had one mission and that was not to lose their history-defining match as all they needed to become the smallest country to book a spot in sport’s greatest show, was a draw. 

And as fate would have it and agonisingly for Jamaicans, the referee called time on the game at 0-0. The rest, as they say, is history. 

With the result on that fateful night in Kingston, Curaçao topped Group B of the qualifiers with 12 points, one more than Jamaica, Trinidad ended third on seven points, while Bermuda hugged the bottom with four points.

Former Jamaica age-group and senior team coach, Brazilian Clovis de Oliveira, watched from his home in Rio de Janeiro as his “beloved” Jamaica let slip, perhaps, the easiest opportunity it will ever get to make it to a senior men’s World Cup as they were thought to have been given “a soft draw”. Not taking advantage, has left de Oliveira bewildered, yet stridently hopeful for new possibilities.

“You know that Jamaica is my second home, and when I saw the outcome, I was really disappointed. Jamaica had a great chance to qualify directly to the World Cup straight, but didn’t make use of it. But all is not lost as we still have a chance to qualify, even though it’s going to be very difficult,” he told Our Today.

“Before the start of the game against Curaçao, I was very optimistic for a positive result, but unfortunately, our Reggae Boyz didn’t perform well at all,” bemoaned de Oliveira.

The 71-year-old says the way the Boyz played in the final phase of the qualifiers — strikingly losing 2-0 away to Curaçao and drawing 1-1 with Trinidad and Tobago in that country — betrayed their group-topping dominance in the earlier rounds.

“Jamaica started those qualifiers very well…it was easy going, and then the team lost their power in the finals, mainly in the offensive aspect of the squad,” reasoned de Oliveira, a key ally of iconic countryman Rene Simoes.

With new coaches — Rudolph Speid and Miguel Coley — entrusted with the unenviable task of leading the two-match inter-continental backdoor into the World Cup, de Oliveira warned that the road ahead is bound to be rocky.

“It is not going to be easy, but Jamaica can do it. What they (coaches) need to do is assemble a group of players at the beginning of 2026,  and start to work hard in all aspects — tactically, technically, strategically, and more importantly, principally mentally. 

“I know my Reggae Boyz can do it as we are a country that has experienced the World Cup atmosphere before, therefore, we can rediscover that going forward,” stated the Brazilian.

“I just want to again urge Jamaican football fans to believe in your players and staff, and then anything will be possible. I want to let you know that I will be in Brazil praying and cheering for Jamaica to qualify for World Cup 2026, and get that repeat of France 1998,” de Oliveira added.

Jamaica have been drawn to face Oceana’s New Caledonia on March 26, after which the winner will face seeded Democratic Republic of Congo five days later for a World Cup reprieve and a place in Group K where Portugal, Uzbekistan and Colombia await. 

“On paper, New Caledonia, I would say, is the weakest among those three teams, so Jamaica will likely go up against Congo for a spot in World Cup 2026,” noted de Oliveira.

The Brazilian tactician, who coached Jamaica at the Under-20 men’s World Cup in Argentina in 2001, said should the Boyz fail to take their second chance of World Cup qualifying glory in March, it would be “heartbreak and sadness” for him and his family.

However, the fairytale success of 82nd-ranked Curacao has not been lost on the Brazilian, citing the achievement as “out of this world” by the sheer scope of it.

“I have been to Curaçao a few times doing football clinics for clubs, but it never came in my mind that Curaçao would qualify for the World Cup as they had no tradition in the region, and now to be able to play at this level, is just amazing,” de Oliveira said.

He argued, however, that the island nation made some bold moves that drastically changed its football fortunes.

“They changed their project radically by bringing in professional players from the Netherlands — about 20 new players by my count.

“They also brought in a good coach (Dik Advocaat), but it was the players who made the big difference as they had the will to make it happen,” outlined de Oliveira, whose last coaching stint in Jamaica was in 2023, with Jamaica Premier League outfit Chapelton Maroons.

On the flip side, Jamaica clearly had the best team in the group on paper, but the English coach Steve McClaren, who has gone down in Jamaican football infamy for the most questionable team selection and tactics, seemingly could not get it right. 

Curaçao — who are still celebrating their earthshaking achievement — will contest Group E of the World Cup with Germany, Ivory Coast and Ecuador. Imagine that.