Jamaica to face New Caledonia, winner plays Congo for World Cup berth
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s second chance to secure a spot in next year’s FIFA World Cup will start against New Caledonia of the Oceania Confederation in Path 1 of the FIFA Intercontinental Playoffs in Mexico in March 2026.
The match-ups for the six team play off were known after Thursday’s draw following the completion of the main schedule in the qualifying for the World Cup to be held in the United States (US), Canada and Mexico next year.
According to the draw, if Jamaica wins their game against the French territory in the southwest Pacific Ocean, they would face the seeded team, Democratic Republic of the Congo in the final for a place World Cup.
These fixtures will take place in the March 2026 FIFA window in Mexico in either Monterrey or Guadalajara.
Jamaica and the other five teams in the FIFA Intercontinental Playoffs qualified for the second chance after failing to get an automatic spot into the World Cup, the Reggae Boyz finishing second to Curacao in their Concacaf Group B after a 0-0 draw in Kingston on Tuesday.
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.
Meanwhile, the other Concacaf team, Suriname will face South American team Bolivia in the first game in Path B with the winning advancing to face Iraq, the other seeded team.
