WILLEMSTAD, Curacao — Although the Reggae Boyz missed out on a golden chance to move closer to qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, Head Coach Steve McClaren says he always knew qualification would come down to the wire as he urges his team to bounce back, starting on Tuesday.

The national senior men’s team, who arrived in Kingston on Saturday morning, were overtaken by Curacao at the top of Group B in the final round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers, after suffering a 2-0 defeat on Friday at Ergilio Hato Stadium.

Brilliant strikes from Livano Comenencia in the 14th minute and Kenji Gorre in the 68th minute saw Curacao continue their unbeaten start to their campaign while inflicting Jamaica’s first loss.

McClaren’s men started slowly, and despite an improved second-half which included a Richard King goal which was overturned by video assistant referee (VAR) for being offside, it wasn’t enough.

With Isaac Hayden and Kasey Palmer suspended, Jamaica played a new midfield trio with debutant Ian Fray and the returning Bobby Reid in the holding midfield roles while Jon Russell, the team’s typical number 8, was moved to attacking midfield.

McClaren says Curacao dominated in that area, which proved costly in the end.

“We didn’t get control, especially in the first 20 minutes in the midfield area, which is their strength. We didn’t win enough duels in there, all loose balls, [which] they won. And once we concede the first goal, it’s difficult,” he said.

“We fought back and we created lots of chances — clear chances — and the offside goal sums up the evening. It feels like we were never going to score.”

The Boyz fell to second in the group with six points, with Curacao leading on seven. Only the group winners will automatically advance to next year’s World Cup while second place could potentially qualify for the inter-confederation play-offs.

A win for Jamaica would have meant that they could have booked their qualifying spot with victory over Bermuda on Tuesday at the National Stadium in Kingston.

However, McClaren says he was never confident that would have been the case.

“I’ve just said to the players, ‘This group was never going to be easy,’” he said. “This was never going to be an easy game and we’ve lost control of the group. We had control, [now] we’ve lost control — and we’ve got enough games to play where we can get that control back.

“People said to me, ‘[If] you win tonight, you’re one foot in.’ Football is never like that. Never. I didn’t expect that, and I said [so] all the way along — even after the first two wins. The qualification [in terms of] who finishes top will always go down to the last two games, so we have to win Tuesday and prepare well for what are the two deciding games to come in November.”

The defeat also means Jamaica will also have to keep an eye on Trinidad and Tobago who moved to third on Friday with four points, after a 3-0 win over fourth-place Bermuda who are yet to get off the mark.

The Boyz are set to train today and will be joined by Hayden and Palmer, who missed the Curacao game. Winger Dujuan Richards, who played just over 10 minutes on Friday, will also take part in his first training session after arriving in Curacao late Thursday afternoon.

Jamaica’s match against Bermuda at the National Stadium will kick off at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, while Curacao’s game against Trinidad here kicks off an hour earlier.

Jamaica senior men’s football team Head Coach Steve McClaren reacts to the second goal conceded in their 2-0 loss to Curacao in Group B of Fifa World Cup qualifying at Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curacao, on Friday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Jamaica’s Shamar Nicholson (second right) grimaces while his teammates Karoy Anderson (right) and Ethan Pinnock make their way off the field as Curacao’s Leandro Bacuna (left) celebrates at full time in their Concacaf World Cup qualifier in Willemstad, Curacao, on Friday night. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)