Jamaica ends World Cup aspirations with loss to DR Congo | OneFootball

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — The Road to the FIFA World Cup 2026 continued with Jamaica losing 1-nil to 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 were seeking to book a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Jamaica’s only previous World Cup appearance came at France 1998.

Andre Blake made a key save in the 33’ to stop a chance from Meschack Elia. The Jamaican shot stopper was called to make another save in the 47’ to deny Bakambu.

Leon Bailey had the attempt on goal in the 67’ but the match would remain scoreless 

Blake was called again to make an important save in the 89’ to deny Yoane Wissa.

With the two sides deadlocked through regulation, extra time was needed to decide the penultimate berth to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Axel Tuanzebe scored the lone goal of the encounter in the 100’ to decide the match in favor of DR Congo.

Post-Match Data 

Leon Bailey (Jamaica) attempted seven dribbles in this match against the DR Congo. This is the second-highest number of such actions in a match of this Intercontinental Playoff, trailing only Yoane Wissa’s eight in this match for the African side.

• Andre Blake kept a clean sheet in five of the eight matches he played for Jamaica in the qualifying process for this World Cup, making a total of 21 saves, including three across the two International Playoff matches.

• Ronaldo Webster is the first Jamaican player to record at least five tackles, three interceptions, and 10 duels in a single match of the 2026 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying campaign. Against the DR Congo, he had six tackles, three interceptions, and 21 duels.

• Ethan Pinnock (Jamaica) made nine clearances against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is the second-highest number of clearances by a Jamaican player in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, tying his own record against Curaçao and trailing only Damion Lowe’s 10 against Trinidad and Tobago.

• The DR Congo had less possession than Jamaica in this match (52% to 48%). However, they nearly quadrupled Jamaica’s shot count (19 to 5), had more shots on goal (3 to 1), and more expected goals (1.4xG to 0.2xG) in this game.

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo will make its second World Cup appearance in 2026. Its previous appearance was in Germany 1974, under the name Zaire, when it was eliminated in the group stage.