McClaren promises improvement in spite of Nations League exit
DESPITE missing out on the semi-finals on the Concacaf Nations League (CNL) and automatic qualification to the Concacaf Gold Cup next summer, Reggae Boyz Head Coach Steve McClaren says they’ll use the experience as a valuable stepping stone toward securing qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
McClaren suffered consecutive losses as they went down 5-2 on aggregate to USA in the quarter-final round. The result extends Jamaica’s record against the USA as they remain winless in their last nine encounters and have only managed three wins in 35 matches against them.
Needing to overcome a first-leg 1-0 defeat at the National Stadium on Thursday, Jamaica fell short as they lost the second leg 4-2 at CityPark in Missouri. Demarai Gray scored the consolation goals in the 53rd and 68th minute as Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, Tim Weah and a Di’Shon Bernard own goal sealed the Boyz’s fate.
While disappointed at the result McClaren says he was pleased with the team’s resilience, and credited Cavalier FC defender Richard King who made his first appearance under the new staff.
“We could have folded at half-time, and we didn’t,” McClaren said. “I said at half-time, ‘We have to win the second half because that’s so important,’ and at half-time you can only change three things: shape, personnel, and attitude — and I think we did that.
“We defended with a back five so yes, we had six defenders on the field — it gave us a foothold in the game. We only made one personnel change, which was Richard King to make a five, and I thought he was excellent — dealt with the ball, good composure, good passing, a sign for the future.”
The two defeats mean McClaren’s win percentage, since his appointment in July, has fallen to 33 per cent, with his only two victories coming away to Honduras and Nicaragua.
However, he says the Nations League games have been a learning experience and intends to make some changes as he tries to make the team a success.
“The real telling in terms of the three camps is we’ve used 37 players, so I’ve certainly had a look at a lot of players that can represent Jamaica. And that’s too many [anyway] for whatever reason, [whether because of] injuries, not playing, suspensions,” McClaren said.
“We’ve had a real good look, and that’s what I wanted in the first three camps — [to] set the standards, be more professional, and develop a style and a way of playing that I believe is the modern game and [which will] help us to qualify, not just for 2026 but for 2030. Because there’s a lot of young talent that I see, and we need to develop them technically and tactically because they’ve got a great spirit, which is a great foundation.”
McClaren says he will need the assistance of Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) to continue building on what he’s done since his arrival.
“This was a real test, and we’ve come up short, but we know the areas where we need to improve which is development, recruitment. And for the next three months, until the next camp in March, we’ll be doing a lot of hard work with the JFF to maintain the standards and continue the improvement in terms of professionalism, organisation — and the staff has certainly bought into that. You have good nights and bad nights. [Monday] is not a good one but, on reflection, we’ll learn and it will make us better in the future.”
McClaren’s next assignment will be in March in the Concacaf Gold Cup preliminaries as they seek to qualify for the group stage set for June 14 to July 6. Jamaica will know their opponents following the draw scheduled for the next few weeks.
