View source for Jamaica at the FIFA World Cup

{{Short description|Participation of Jamaica's national football team in the FIFA World Cup}}
{{For|the women's team|Jamaica at the FIFA Women's World Cup}}
This is a '''record of [[Jamaica national football team|Jamaica]]'s results at the [[FIFA World Cup]]'''. The '''FIFA World Cup''', sometimes called the '''Football World Cup''' or the '''Soccer World Cup''', but usually referred to simply as the '''World Cup''', is an international [[association football]] competition contested by the [[List of men's national association football teams|men's national teams]] of the members of ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ([[FIFA]]), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]], except in 1942 and 1946, due to [[World War II]].

The tournament consists of two parts, the [[FIFA World Cup qualification|qualification phase]] and the final phase (officially called the ''World Cup Finals''). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the [[2006 FIFA World Cup#Final|2006 tournament final]].<ref name="2006coverage">[https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/ffprojects/ip-401_06e_tv_2658.pdf 2006 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614094554/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/ffprojects/ip-401_06e_tv_2658.pdf |date=June 14, 2007 }} (PDF), FIFA.com. Retrieved on June 6, 2007.</ref>

Jamaica has qualified for the finals of the FIFA World Cup once with it happening in [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]] after they finished third in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/world-cup-2018-jamaica-france-98-robbie-earle-media-makers-history-maker-reggae-boyz-a8400226.html|title=Remembering Jamaica at France '98: media darlings, history-makers and more than just the ‘Reggae Boyz’|access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thesefootballtimes.co/2017/07/06/the-unlikely-journey-of-jamaica-to-france-98/|title=The unlikely journey of Jamaica to France 98|date=6 July 2017|access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref> Although they beat Japan 2–1 in their third and final group game, two earlier defeats meant they failed to progress to the Round of 16.

==Overview==
{{Jamaica FIFA World Cup record}}

==1998 FIFA World Cup==
In 1996, the [[Jamaican Football Federation]] hired Brazilian [[René Simões]] to take charge of the team.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0077.html|title=A fascination with football|first=Rebecca|last=Tortello|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103162120/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0077.html|archive-date=3 November 2013|publisher=Jamaica Glenaer|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref> After comfortably getting through the second round,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1013/preliminaries/preliminary=892/index.html|title=1998 FIFA World Cup France ™ Preliminaries|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231124323/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1013/preliminaries/preliminary=892/index.html|archive-date=31 December 2013|publisher=FIFA|access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref> they finish top of their group in the third round to qualify through to the hexagon where the top three qualified through to the finals. A slow start in the finals saw the national team winless from the first four games of the final round. But 1–0 wins against [[El Salvador national football team|El Salvador]], [[Canada men's national soccer team|Canada]] and [[Costa Rica national football team|Costa Rica]] gave the national team some hope with [[Deon Burton]] scoring the winning goal in two of those matches. After a 0–0 draw against [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]], Jamaica secured their qualification with a 2–2 draw against El Salvador to make their first (and to date only) appearance at a World Cup with the following day being declared a national holiday.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/world-cup-2018-jamaica-france-98-robbie-earle-media-makers-history-maker-reggae-boyz-a8400226.html|title=World Cup 2018: How history-making Jamaica became more than just the ‘Reggae Boyz’ at France 1998|date=15 June 2018|access-date=13 June 2019|first=Eoin|last=O'Callaghan|publisher=The Independent|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615163216/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/world-cup-2018-jamaica-france-98-robbie-earle-media-makers-history-maker-reggae-boyz-a8400226.html|archive-date=15 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Squad===
Head coach: {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Renê Simões]]
{{nat fs start}}
{{nat fs player|no=1|pos=GK|name=[[Warren Barrett]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1970|7|9}}|caps=128|club=[[Violet Kickers F.C.|Violet Kickers]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=2|pos=DF|name=[[Stephen Malcolm]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1970|5|2}}|caps=62|club=[[Seba United F.C.|Seba United]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=3|pos=MF|name=[[Chris Dawes (Jamaican footballer)|Chris Dawes]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1974|5|31}}|caps=|club=[[Galaxy F.C.|Galaxy]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=4|pos=DF|name=[[Linval Dixon]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1971|9|14}}|caps=104|club=[[Hazard F.C.|Hazard]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=5|pos=DF|name=[[Ian Goodison]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1972|11|21}}|caps=55|club=[[Olympic Gardens F.C.|Olympic Gardens]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=6|pos=MF|name=[[Fitzroy Simpson]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1970|2|26}}|caps=23|club=[[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]|clubnat=England}}
{{nat fs player|no=7|pos=MF|name=[[Peter Cargill]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1964|3|2}}|caps=76|club=[[Harbour View F.C.|Harbour View]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=8|pos=FW|name=[[Marcus Gayle]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1970|9|27}}|caps=5|club=[[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]]|clubnat=England}}
{{nat fs player|no=9|pos=FW|name=[[Andy Williams (soccer)|Andy Williams]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1977|9|23}}|caps=25|club=[[Columbus Crew]]|clubnat=USA}}
{{nat fs player|no=10|pos=FW|name=[[Walter Boyd (footballer)|Walter Boyd]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1972|1|1}}|caps=57|club=[[Arnett Gardens F.C.|Arnett Gardens]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=11|pos=MF|name=[[Theodore Whitmore]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1972|8|5}}|caps=76|club=[[Seba United F.C.|Seba United]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=12|pos=DF|name=[[Dean Sewell]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1972|4|13}}|caps=4|club=[[Constant Spring F.C.|Constant Spring]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=13|pos=GK|name=[[Aaron Lawrence]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1970|8|11}}|caps=17|club=[[Reno F.C.|Reno]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=14|pos=GK|name=[[Donovan Ricketts]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1977|6|7}}|caps=0|club=[[Wadadah F.C.|Wadadah]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=15|pos=DF|name=[[Ricardo Gardner]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1978|9|25}}|caps=34|club=[[Harbour View F.C.|Harbour View]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=16|pos=MF|name=[[Robbie Earle]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1965|1|27}}|caps=8|club=[[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]]|clubnat=England}}
{{nat fs player|no=17|pos=FW|name=[[Onandi Lowe]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1973|12|2}}|caps=30|club=[[Harbour View F.C.|Harbour View]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=18|pos=FW|name=[[Deon Burton]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1976|10|25}}|caps=18|club=[[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]]|clubnat=England}}
{{nat fs player|no=19|pos=DF|name=[[Frank Sinclair]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1971|12|3}}|caps=5|club=[[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]|clubnat=England}}
{{nat fs player|no=20|pos=MF|name=[[Darryl Powell]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1971|11|15}}|caps=2|club=[[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]]|clubnat=England}}
{{nat fs player|no=21|pos=DF|name=[[Durrant Brown]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1964|7|8}}|caps=125|club=[[Wadadah F.C.|Wadadah]]|clubnat=Jamaica}}
{{nat fs player|no=22|pos=FW|name=[[Paul Hall (footballer)|Paul Hall]]|age={{Birth date and age2|df=yes|1998|6|10|1972|7|3}}|caps=23|club=[[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]|clubnat=England}}
{{nat fs end}}

===Group H table===
{{:1998 FIFA World Cup Group H|transcludesection=standings|showteam=JAM}}
===Jamaica vs. Croatia===
{{footballbox
|date=14 June 1998
|time=21:00
|team1={{fb-rt|JAM}}
|score=1–3
|report=[https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/worldcup/france1998/matches/round=1014/match=8736/index.html (Report)]
|team2={{fb|CRO}}
|goals1=[[Robbie Earle|Earle]] {{goal|45}}
|goals2=[[Mario Stanić|Stanić]] {{goal|27}}<br />[[Robert Prosinečki|Prosinečki]] {{goal|53}}<br />[[Davor Šuker|Šuker]] {{goal|69}}
|stadium = [[Stade Félix-Bollaert]], [[Lens, Pas-de-Calais|Lens]]
|attendance = 38,058
|referee = [[Vítor Melo Pereira]] ([[Portuguese Football Federation|Portugal]]) }}

===Argentina vs Jamaica===
{{footballbox
|date = 21 June 1998
|time = 17:30
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ARG}}
|score = 5&ndash;0
|report = [https://web.archive.org/web/20071001031726/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1013/results/matches/match=8752/report.html Report]
|team2 = {{fb|JAM}}
|goals1 = [[Ariel Ortega|Ortega]] {{goal|31||55}}<br />[[Gabriel Batistuta|Batistuta]] {{goal|72||80||82|pen.}}
|goals2 = 
|stadium = [[Parc des Princes]], [[Paris]]
|attendance = 45,000
|referee = [[Rune Pedersen (referee)|Rune Pedersen]] ([[Football Association of Norway|Norway]]) }}

===Japan vs Jamaica===
{{footballbox
|date = 26 June 1998
|time = 16:00
|team1 = {{fb-rt|JPN}}
|score = 1&ndash;2
|report = [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930225827/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1013/results/matches/match=8771/report.html Report]
|team2 = {{fb|JAM}}
|goals1 = [[Masashi Nakayama|Nakayama]] {{goal|74}}
|goals2 = [[Theodore Whitmore|Whitmore]] {{goal|39||54}}
|stadium = [[Stade Gerland]], [[Lyon]]
|attendance = 39,100
|referee = [[Günter Benkö]] ([[Austrian Football Association|Austria]]) }}

==Record players==

Nine players have been fielded in all three of Jamaica's FIFA World Cup matches, making them record World Cup players for their country:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"
|-
!Rank
!Player
!Matches
|-
|rowspan=9 align=center|1
|[[Walter Boyd (footballer)|Walter Boyd]]||align=center|3
|-
|[[Deon Burton]]||align=center|3
|-
|[[Robbie Earle]]||align=center|3
|-
|[[Ricardo Gardner]]||align=center|3
|-
|[[Ian Goodison]]||align=center|3
|-
|[[Paul Hall (footballer)|Paul Hall]]||align=center|3
|-
|[[Fitzroy Simpson]]||align=center|3
|-
|[[Frank Sinclair]]||align=center|3
|-
|[[Theodore Whitmore]]||align=center|3
|-
|}

==Top goalscorers==

The two goals scored by Theodore Whitmore during Jamaica's only World Cup win, their 2–1 over Japan, make him Jamaica's record scorer at World Cup tournaments.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"
|-
!Rank
!Player
!Goals
!World Cups
|-
|align=center|1||[[Theodore Whitmore]]||align=center|2||1998
|-
|align=center|2||[[Robbie Earle]]||align=center|1||1998
|}

==See also==
*[[Jamaica at the CONCACAF Gold Cup]]
*[[Jamaica at the Copa América]]
*[[North, Central American and Caribbean nations at the FIFA World Cup]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Jamaica national football team}}
{{Countries at the FIFA World Cup}}

[[Category:Jamaica at the FIFA World Cup| ]]
[[Category:Countries at the FIFA World Cup]]