Steve McClaren’s Jamaica harbour World Cup dream amid storm devastation

Steve McClaren has spoken of a determination to put “a smile on people’s faces” in Jamaica. Over the next six days the former England manager has a golden chance to do so by guiding Jamaica to the World Cup when they play for the first time since Hurricane Melissa.

The devastating category 5 storm that made landfall on the island on 28 October is known to have killed 45 people there and displaced tens of thousands of households, with hundreds still in emergency shelters. The prime minister, Andrew Holness, said it had caused damage to homes and key infrastructure roughly equal to the value of a third of the country’s gross domestic product.

It is against this backdrop that the Reggae Boyz head into their final two qualifiers in the Concacaf section. If results go their way, they could seal a first World Cup berth in 28 years with a win against their fiercest rivals, Dwight Yorke’s Trinidad and Tobago, in Port of Spain on Thursday. But the likelihood is that they will need to beat Dick Advocaat’s Curaçao in Kingston five days later to secure automatic qualification. Both their opponents harbour their own hopes of topping the group. Jamaica lead the section, a point ahead of Curaçao, who on Thursday face Bermuda, and four clear of Trinidad.

Rumarn Burrell after scoring for Jamaica against Trinidad and Tobago at Brentford in May. The Reggae Boyz are now top of their World Cup qualification group. Photograph: Anthony Hanc/Shutterstock

McClaren, with Hurricane Melissa in mind, has referred to the Curaçao fixture as “the biggest game in Jamaica for many, many years”. The fact that it is going ahead as scheduled is something in itself. Melissa caused no major infrastructural damage to the National Stadium in Kingston or the surrounding area, though there was minor disruption to the training ground’s dormitories.

McClaren has been in charge of Jamaica since July 2024 and said he watched “in horror” from the UK at the devastation of the hurricane, arriving on the island the week after. “While we’re here, what can we do?” he asked himself at the squad announcement. “We will try to at least put some positivity and a smile on people’s faces in the midst of adversity … because there is nothing better than a Jamaican smile, I can guarantee you that.”

There has been a push to sell tickets for the qualifier against Curaçao but mobility and communication across the island have been severely affected, with entire communities cut off. The London-born Charlton midfielder Karoy Anderson struggled to contact family living in the Jamaican countryside before he joined up with the national squad. “It’s quite sad, quite heartbreaking that a lot of things people built up their whole lives have just been taken away so quickly,” he says.

Charlton players who have joined forces to support Hurricane Melissa relief: (l-r) Amari’i Bell, Tyreece Campbell, Miles Leaburn, Harvey Knibbs and Karoy Anderson. Photograph: Courtesy of Charlton Athletic

Anderson is one of several Charlton players with Jamaican heritage – the forward Tyreece Campbell is also part of the squad and the centre-back Amari’i Bell would have been if not for injury. They, along with Kaheim Dixon, Harvey Knibbs and Miles Leaburn, have come together to donate to the hurricane relief efforts. “It’s really good to be able to give a helping hand and be able to support those people,” says Anderson, who feels “blessed to be put in this position financially to give a bit of help, whether it be food supplies or money donations”.

Jamaica have not come particularly close to qualifying for the World Cup since they played at France 98, this being the first time they will have been one game from a place in the finals since then. But with the 2026 tournament expanded to 48 teams and Concacaf’s usual forces, Mexico and the United States, plus Canada, out of the qualifying picture as hosts, there has been more expectation this time.

“Eighteen months ago, everybody’s goal was World Cup qualification,” McClaren said. “And we’re on the brink. We’ve come this far, we’ve had 18 months working towards this moment.”

Since taking over, McClaren has continued a recruitment drive that taps in to the Jamaican diaspora. He has handed debuts to Mason Holgate and Isaac Hayden among others and also hopes Brentford’s Rico Henry will be given clearance to play this week. Mason Greenwood is yet to decide whether to switch his allegiance from England.

Of the 26 players called up this month, only three play in Jamaica, with 16 others and much of the coaching staff flying in from the UK. “We’ve got the added pressure of the people of Jamaica who are suffering at the present moment,” said McClaren. “The devastation and travesty that they must be going through. We can’t see that, we can’t feel that. We need to be able to feel that, what the people are feeling.”

McClaren has been a big draw for potential recruits. “His history, and to be able to say that I’ve played under him, is special,” says Anderson. “Just to take whatever I can, whatever little gems he has, is a great opportunity for me to continue learning.” The former Manchester United coach has also reintegrated the talismanic Leon Bailey after previous spats, although the forward has missed the past three squads owing to injury.

After the failure of Euro 2008 qualification with England, a shot at reaching a World Cup with Jamaica offers McClaren the chance to deliver something, in his words, “so special” to this expectant nation.