(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz have secured their spot in the final round of the World Cup Qualifiers after a 4-1 win over Antigua and Barbuda in the final Group A game at the National Stadium.
Having lost their previous match last week, the Reggae Boyz were depending on a USA win over Guatemala in order to advance.
And at the end of 90 minutes, the Americans gave Jamaica the gift, scoring 3-1 over the Guatemalans in Kansas City.
This means Jamaica and USA will advance from Group A to the next round.
In front of a sparsely populated National Stadium, the Reggae Boyz scored two minutes apart early in the first half of their clash with the Antigua to raise their chances of making it to the next round of their World Cup campaign.
Demar Phillips scored in the 16th minute and then on the 18th minute, Nyron Nosworthy found the back of the net.
The Jamaicans would further dominate the first half with a total of eight corner kicks – three of them in a row.
The Reggae Boyz also created a number of other chances but failed to score.
But around the 60th minute Nyron Nosworthy committed an infraction and the visitors were awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box.
The Antiguans capitalised on the kick to make it 2-1 and immediately took control of the second half.
But soon after, the Jamaican’s took back control and Dane Richards scored back to back goals to seal the win for the hosts.
Jamaica joins Mexico, Panama, Honduras and the United States as teams in the final round of the World Cup Qualifiers.
