Head of the Jamaica Football Federation’s Technical Committee, Rudolph Speid, said he is willing to take over the head coaching job if asked for the two crucial playoff games, as the Reggae Boyz are drawn to play New Caledonia on March 26.

Jamaica are left without a head coach as Englishman Steve McClaren suddenly resigned after the Reggae Boyz drew 0-0 with Curacao on Tuesday and failed to automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup as group winners.

However, as the best second-placed team, Jamaica have a second bite at the cherry and will face New Caledonia from the Oceania Confederation, ranked 149 in the world with a population of 295,000, almost twice that of Curacao, which bettered Jamaica.

Speid, who heads the committee that hired McClaren, then served as his advisor, was asked by Our Today if he was willing to take up the vacant head coaching position.

“I am what you call a nationalist; anything my country needs, I am available,” said Speid.

The man who coached Cavalier to the Caribbean Club title in 2024 noted that Jamaica’s draw against New Caledonia in the Intercontinental Playoffs is not an easy one.

“It’s a tricky draw. There is no easy team in the world,” he pointed out “Now we have to do some work and start preparing and find out what New Caledonia is doing, then Congo. Our focus will be on them. It’s an opportunity for us, so we just have to grasp it with both hands.”

“We would have learnt some lessons from the six games we played. These two matches will be played away, so there is no home advantage. So this is good, we have another opportunity, we just have to work hard,” said Speid.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz have been drawn to face New Caledonia in Path 1 of the FIFA Intercontinental Playoffs following the draw this morning in Zurich, Switzerland. Jamaica must get past the French Colony and then the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Final. A victory over DR Congo would secure qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The match dates are March 26 and 31 in Mexico, and the play-offs will be played in single-leg knockout matches.

If scores are level at the end of normal time, 30 minutes of extra time will be played, where each team will be allowed to make a sixth substitution. If the scores remain tied, a penalty shoot-out will be used to determine the winner.