PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago — Former national defender Tyrone Marshall says Jamaica’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign is on a promising path, but has urged the squad to maintain focus heading into decisive final games.

The Reggae Boyz meet Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) in their penultimate qualifier at the Hasely Crawford Stadium today at 7:00 pm Jamaica time.

Marshall, who famously scored a spectacular long-range goal in a 1-0 win over T&T during the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, shared his thoughts in light of Jamaica’s mixed results over the past two windows.

“It’s a big week for the Reggae Boyz,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

The Reggae Boyz opened their campaign in September with a 4-0 win away to Bermuda before returning home to defeat T&T 2-0 days later. However, their momentum stalled in October when they lost 2-0 to hosts Curaçao, only to rebound with another 4-0 win over Bermuda in Kingston.

Marshall lauded the team’s progress but did not shy away from assessing what he felt was a missed opportunity in Curaçao.

“Obviously, in terms of their accomplishments so far, I think they’ve done fantastic,” he said. “However, the one hiccup I would say is the Curaçao game. I didn’t think the approach was, ‘Let’s go and take care of business there.’

“I think it was, ‘Let’s give some guys some opportunities and see what happens’, instead of going for the jugular and taking care of business and not waiting, potentially until the last game to qualify.”

The Reggae Boyz’s fate is in their own hands as they top Group B on nine points after four games, one ahead of Curaçao, and four ahead of T&T, with Bermuda last, without any points.

A win here plus a loss for Curaçao to Bermuda tonight, though improbable, would mean Jamaica win the group and qualify automatically, but if both Jamaica and Curaçao win tonight, their fate will be decided when they meet in Kingston on Tuesday.

Marshall stressed the importance of urgency and intent.

“Looking ahead to the game against Trinidad, we have to come out with that mentality that it’s a do-or-die game,” he said. “We have to come out with everything that we have. We have to push to get a result in that game. However, if the result doesn’t go our way, we still have the opportunity to close it out on the final match day against Curaçao.”

Yet in Marshall’s view, the Boyz should not leave qualification to chance.

“The mindset of the guys should be, ‘We need to take care of business’ and once you take care of business against Trinidad, it’s just a formality coming back to Jamaica,” he said. “And what a way to close it out just going through the formalities of getting the qualification at home.”

Hurricane Melissa’s destruction of sections of the island last month should provided added motivation for the team as it seeks to give its people a morale lift.

Marshall says the entire country has rallied in spirit after the hurricane, and that emotional fuel will strengthen the team’s push.

“It’s going to be a really pivotal moment,” he said. “I think the game against Trinidad, it will be really, really important that we come out there with the right result and the right mindset. But I think the guys will, with everything that’s going on with the country right now.”

Ultimately, Marshall is confident Jamaica will deliver.

“Seeing all of the circumstances that just happened, that would be a really galvanising moment,” he said. “It’s like in 1997 when we drew 0-0 with Mexico and qualified.

“But I have no doubt that Jamaica should qualify and will qualify. I’m really excited and looking forward to these games — celebrating with my Jamaica jersey on and going to the World Cup.”

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