Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz got off to a poor start at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, crashing 0-1 to Guatemala in Group C on Monday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, USA.

It was Jamaica’s first loss to the Central Americans in six meetings in the Gold Cup and just their second defeat to Guatemala overall.

Oscar Santis netted the winner for Guatemala in the 32^nd minute poking home after a brilliant build-up play that opened up the Jamaican backline.

Earlier, Santis had the ball in the back of the net with a wonderful volley but his effort was ruled offside in the 17^th minute.

Despite dominating the statistics, with 55 per cent possession and 15 shots, Jamaica never looked like scoring until the last minute when defender Ethan Pinnock’s headed over from close range.

Panama lead the group on goal difference after beating Guatemala, and Guadeloupe are on three points with Panama sitting on top with a better goal difference after beating Guadeloupe 5-2 in the other Group C game.

Group C play will continue on Friday when Jamaica meets Guadeloupe in San Jose, California, followed by Guatemala taking on Panama in Austin, Texas.

Jamaica’s head coach Steve McClaren said Guatemala were the stronger team mentally following their 0-3 loss to Jamaica days ago, and it made the difference.

“I think ultimately, that’s always the thing that wins a game, and we expected a reaction from Guatemala after the other night,” McClaren pointed out.

“That’s what we said to our players. We need a reaction. We knew they’d be aggressive. I think they fought like lions. They really had a big desire to win that game, to win the duels and to really be in our face. We got through the first 30 minutes, but we switched off just for a moment,” he pointed out.