GUADALAJARA, Mexico — DR Congo’s midfielder Charles Pickel (back) comforts Jamaica’s defender Ian Fray at the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers final play-off football match between both teams at Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Jalisco state, Mexico, on March 31, 2026. DR Congo won the match 1-0 to advance to this summer’s World Cup. (Photo: AFP)
April 1, 2026
That’s all folks!
Jamaica’s World Cup dream ends in 0-1 defeat to DR Congo
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AFP) — The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) defeated Jamaica 1-0 after extra time in an inter-continental play-off on Tuesday to seal their first World Cup appearance in 52 years.
The defeat ended Jamaica’s hope of making a return to global football’s top tournament, having qualified for the 1998 finals in France where they exited at the group stage after suffering losses to Argentina and Croatia, but beating Japan.
Tuesday’s inter-continental play-off completes a dramatic qualification campaign for the Leopards, who will be playing at the World Cup for the first time since the 1974 finals in West Germany, when the team competed as Zaire and were beaten by Scotland, Yugoslavia, and Brazil.
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