THEY came, they saw, and they joined the party.

There is no question that the Portsmouth trio of strikers Paul Hall and Deon Burton, plus midfielder Fitzroy Simpson saw a good thing when they arrived to join the Reggae Boyz in 1997.

Having paid their own airfare to join a well-oiled dream machine — led by the business and marketing savvy of federation boss, the late Captain Horace Burrell, and inspirational Brazilian Rene Simoes — the English-born men would have had the sense that something special was happening in their ancestral home.

This feeling must have been so overpowering that they thought it would be worth every penny to fly down to Jamaica to join, for the first time, a band of men who believed that the impossible was not only possible but was happening right now.

And on November 16, 1997, inside Kingston’s National Stadium and in front 35,000 bustling Jamaicans united in purpose and hope, the possibilities manifested themselves in the form of Jamaica creating history to become the first English-speaking nation from the Caribbean to qualify for football’s biggest show.

Three rounds of qualifying matches culminated with a nerve-wracking 90 minutes of football in a game against Mexico on that day when the nationalistic spirit of the nation shone as brightly as the sun above.

With proceedings going in their favour in the match between USA and El Salvador in Boston, the Boyz’ minimal goal was to avoid a defeat and history would be theirs to claim.

That game ended 0-0 and, as they say, the rest is history.

Hall, who joins the Boyz set-up as assistant coach to France ’98 teammate Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore, comes alive when he talks about his greatest footballing experience.

“I am beyond proud of being part of that World Cup team and the whole qualifying matches, and then being in France. It was a truly special experience. It’s hard to describe what that time was like for everyone involved. But if you were there, you knew,” he told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.

But before the glory of qualification, the journey for Hall started in a sort of serendipitous way.

“I am not sure if you remember, but I was playing with Fitzroy Simpson and Deon Burton at Portsmouth and we all decided that we want to support our heritage and play for Jamaica.

“So, actually the first time we met up internationally we had paid for our own flights to get out there and prove how committed we were to the team. We had to earn our place in the team, and rightly so, and show our teammates, coach and fans that we deserved our place in the squad,” Hall said.

The 48-year-old, who recently departed a job as head coach of Queens Park Rangers’ Under-23 squad, credits Simoes for shaping the programme for success.

But Hall also paid tribute to the work that went on behind the scenes with what was thought to be pragmatic leadership from the governing Jamaica Football Federation (JFF). The role of the Government and belief of the Jamaica people, plus robust support from corporate Jamaica, fuelled the dream immeasurably.

“Rene was certainly instrumental in the success of Jamaica — his training schedules, the way he played and how he gave us belief we could do it.

“Of course, having the whole country back you, support you and cheer for you is almost like having a 12th man. When you have the power and belief of a nation behind you, almost anything is possible. The people were so important to us and our drive for success back then, and I feel they are going to be just as important this time around,” Hall recalled.

Even though he rates every match for his country, those games in the final phase of qualification during which he formed a formidable partnership with goal-poacher Burton rank highest.

“The standout games for me were all of the qualifiers [as] we were in such form, and we believed we could play against anybody and compete and be better.

“The game against El Salvador was extra special because of all the things we had to put up with before, during and after the game. They [El Salvadorans] tried to intimidate us at our training ground, our hotel and even at the stadium, but we held firm and got a great draw there. Both myself and Deon scored in that game,” Hall recollected.

Hall is credited with scoring 14 goals for Jamaica, and one in the France ’98 qualifying phase.

But at the World Cup itself he ranks Whitmore’s brace in their match against Japan, as the midfield maestro demonstrated his class by scoring with each foot in a 2-1 victory.

“The World Cup game that stood out was the one with Japan [where] Tappa scored twice in that game and showed the world what a player he was. The game versus Croatia where Robbie Earle scored a header from a cross by Ricardo Gardner was also a special moment,” Hall said.

Even though the former Tranmere Rovers striker has moved to another level of the game as a coach, nothing compares to the magic at the player level.

“Nothing beats that feeling or the adrenaline rush of running out of the tunnel to a cheering crowd. It’s kind of gladiatorial. The feeling of the impending competition and rivalry, and of course the desire to win,” Hall stated.