Jamaica meets DR Congo with World Cup berth at stake | OneFootball

MIAMI — The Road to the FIFA World Cup 2026 continues with Jamaica facing DR Congo in the Final of Path A in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament on Tuesday at Guadalajara Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The Reggae Boyz are seeking to book a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Jamaica’s only previous World Cup appearance came at France 1998.

The Democratic Republic of Congo last played in the World Cup at Germany 1974, when it was known as Zaire.

Jamaica is one win away from its second World Cup participation after a 1-nil victory over New Caledonia on Thursday. Bailey Cadamarteri struck the lone goal of the encounter in the 18’.

The likes of Andre Blake, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, and Leon Bailey will also seek to etch their names in Jamaican football lore with one victory separating them from history.

FACTS 

·       Jamaica is seeking to qualify for its second FIFA World Cup, following its appearance in 1998. If successful, it will mark the third-longest gap between appearances among Concacaf teams (28 years), tying Honduras (28 years between 1982 and 2010) and trailing only Canada (36 years, 1986 –2022) and the United States (40 years, between 1950 and 1990), counting only those countries with at least two appearances in the tournament.

·       Jamaica has not lost in its four most recent official matches (W2 D2), conceding just one goal during that stretch, against Trinidad and Tobago (1–1). If they avoid defeat against DR Congo, they could extend their unbeaten run to five competitive matches from March 2022 to July 2023 (W5 D4).

·       Damion Lowe (Jamaica) could qualify for his first World Cup, a feat his father Onandi achieved in 1998. If he achieves this and makes the squad this summer, it will be the 28th father-son duo at a World Cup and the fifth in Concacaf: Luis and Mario Perez, Javier Hernandez and his namesake son for Mexico, Alexandre Guimaraes and Celso Borges for Costa Rica, Claudio and Giovanni Reyna for the U.S., and Marti Vantolra for Spain, while his son José did so for El Tri.

·       Jamaica is seeking its first win against African teams since May 25, 2003, when it defeated Nigeria 3-2 in a friendly played in Kingston. However, since then, it has had more draws than losses (D6 L4).

·       Bailey Cadamarteri (Jamaica) scored the winning goal for the Reggae Boyz against New Caledonia. If he scores against the DR Congo, he will become the first Concacaf player to score in two matches of an intercontinental playoff since Oribe Peralta did so for Mexico against New Zealand in 2013.

·       In four of its last five matches in this 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, Jamaica had more possession than its opponents, recording 55% against New Caledonia. The only exception during this streak was the 1-1 draw against Trinidad and Tobago (39%).

·       Andre Blake (Jamaica) could become the first goalkeeper for a Concacaf team to keep a clean sheet in two matches of the same intercontinental playoff since Antonio Carbajal did so for Mexico in 1962 against Paraguay: El Tri won 1-0 in the first leg and drew 0-0 in the second.

·       DR Congo is coming off a run in the Africa Cup of Nations, where they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Algeria. In that tournament, only one player from the Leopards scored more than one goal: Gael Kakuta, with two, although the forward was not called up for this intercontinental playoff.

·       Only two of the 26 players called up by the DR Congo for this intercontinental playoff do not play for European clubs, both of whom are forwards: Simon Banza (Al Jazira) and Fiston Mayele (Pyramids). The rest are spread across the English Premier League or Championship (6), French Ligue 1 (5), Spanish La Liga and La Liga 2 (4), Greek First Division (2), Belgian First Division (2), Turkish SüperLig (1), Russian Premier League (1), the Polish Ekstraklasa (1), the Armenian First Division (1), and the Scottish Premiership (1).