Jodee Brown
The Reggae Boyz path to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico gets clearer as Jamaica’s senior men’s national team learns its second-round qualifying group.
On Jan. 25, CONCACAF held the official draw for the opening round of United 2026 qualifying. Round 2 will see Jamaica take on Guatemala, Dominica and The Dominican Republic. The group also includes the winner of a playoff between the U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands.
The Draw for Round 2 of the World Cup Qualifiers 🇯🇲⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Y0YAjcN94U
— Official J.F.F (@jff_football) January 25, 2024
Jamaica will reacquaint themselves with Guatemala, having defeated the Central American nation in their 2023 Gold Cup quarterfinal. They last met Guatemala during 2014 World Cup qualifying. There they won at the National Stadium but lost in Guatemala.
Before beginning World Cup qualifying, the Reggae Boyz face defending champs, the USA, in the semis of the 2023/24 CONCACAF Nations League. Additionally, Jamaica’s busy 2024 schedule includes a trip to the Copa America, taking on Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela in Group B.
Jamaica will play once against each of their 2026 World Cup qualifying opponents (two home, two away) for a spot in the third and final round. The top two from the group will advance to the third round to contest for three automatic World Cup berths and two playoff berths at United 2026. The Boyz’s lone World Cup appearance was in France ’98.
The second round of 2026 CONCACAF qualifying begins this June and concludes next June. The final round, which runs from September to November 2025, will feature three groups of four, with the group winners qualifying automatically. The top two second-placed teams then go to the intercontinental playoffs.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings