For many Jamaicans, especially football watchers, this Easter break is less than restful.

That’s following Tuesday’s last-chance elimination of the Reggae Boyz from FIFA World Cup qualifying by Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo in Guadalajara, Mexico.

For those who somehow missed it, the two teams vying for a place at the World Cup from June to July in United States, Mexico and Canada were locked at 0-0 after 90 minutes.

DR Congo got the all-important goal in the 100th minute (first half of extra time) when Mr Axel Tuanzebe bundled home a loose ball from close quarters.

That goal, rightly or wrongly categorised in Jamaican folk language as “buck up”‘ assured DR Congo’s second qualification to a senior men’s FIFA World Cup. Its first in 52 years.

For Jamaicans, the defeat meant yet another four-year wait before there is another chance at repeating France 1998.

The defeat was extra painful because of a nagging sense that, with more ambition and creativity, the Reggae Boyz could have got the job done.

Even in the dying minutes when players needed to drive forward in search of goals, there seemed — with the odd exception — to be a perplexing inadequacy of desire.

However, we believe it’s also important to say that from, our perspective, team structure, organisation, and cohesiveness against DR Congo was superior to anything we saw under Briton, Mr Steve McClaren, from whom Mr Rudolph Speid took over as interim head coach last November.

Indeed, we believe that had the team played similarly in the final Concacaf qualifying round late last year, Jamaica would have succeeded back then. Inter-confederation play-offs would’ve been for others.

But that’s water under the bridge.

The challenge now is the way forward in a context in which, as Mr Speid told this newspaper last November, failing to qualify for the World Cup may well mean a financial “disaster” for Jamaica’s football.

Impecunity means there can be no thoughts of hiring a world-rated coach.

In any case, since Mr Rene Simoes, nearly three decades ago, a long sequence of expensive overseas coaches have fallen short.

As we understand it, the Concacaf Nations League — qualifying tournament for next year’s Concacaf Gold Cup — set for September is the next major assignment for the Reggae Boyz.

Thereafter, comes the qualification phase for the 2030 Fifa World Cup.

In ordinary circumstances, there would be little argument that Mr Speid should be national coach, at least until the start of the next World Cup qualifiers.

Obviously, much would depend on how he goes up to then.

However, naysayers correctly argue that not only was Mr Speid technical adviser to Mr McClaren in the latter’s last few games as Jamaica’s head coach, he was chairman of the technical committee which recommended the Briton in the first place. It means that, like the wider national football executive, he is at fault.

Also, there is the awkward inevitability that, as owner of one of Jamaica’s top clubs, Cavalier FC, Mr Speid as national head coach would remain under the microscope for potential conflict of interest.

Ours, though, is not a perfect world. For now, it seems to us, Mr Speid is the best bet.