Former England manager Steve McClaren has endured another painful tournament qualification failure after his Jamaica side were dramatically eliminated from World Cup contention by the tiny Caribbean nation of Curacao.
Heartbreak in Kingston
The 64-year-old coach watched helplessly as his Reggae Boyz could only manage a 0-0 draw in their crucial qualifier in Kingston, handing qualification to their opponents instead. The result prompted McClaren's immediate resignation, ending his 18-month tenure in charge of the Jamaican national team.
In an emotional post-match press conference, McClaren told journalists: "I have given everything to this job over the last 18 months. Leading this team has been one of the greatest honours of my career."
"But football is a results business and tonight we haven't achieved our objective, which was to qualify from this group. It is the leader's responsibility to step up, take responsibility and make decisions in the best interest of the team."
History Repeats for McClaren
The failure evoked painful memories for McClaren, who was famously ridiculed when he failed to guide England to Euro 2008 after that rainy night at Wembley against Croatia, where a young Luka Modric orchestrated England's downfall.
This latest disappointment comes despite Jamaica being handed what many considered a golden opportunity to reach only their second World Cup, with their sole appearance dating back to France 1998. With CONCACAF giants United States, Mexico and Canada already qualified as host nations, the path appeared clearer than ever for the Reggae Boyz.
Even a pre-match motivational speech from Jamaica's most famous son, sprint legend Usain Bolt, couldn't inspire McClaren's team to find the crucial winning goal.
Curacao Make History
While Jamaica suffered heartbreak, Curacao celebrated becoming the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for a World Cup. The island of just 156,115 people - similar in size to Cambridge or Huddersfield - completed their remarkable rise from 150th in FIFA's world rankings a decade ago to their current position of 82nd.
Curacao finished as the only unbeaten nation in the tournament, topping Group B with 12 points to secure their historic qualification. Their achievement becomes even more remarkable given they were without veteran coach Dick Advocaat for the crucial match, with the 78-year-old having to return to the Netherlands for family reasons.
Advocaat, who becomes the oldest manager at a World Cup, breaking Otto Rehhagel's record, will now lead Curacao to football's biggest stage alongside other CONCACAF qualifiers Panama and Haiti.
Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts delivered a blunt assessment of the failure, stating: "To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. We thought Steve McClaren would have been a good replacement, and it turns out he hasn't been that much."
The Reggae Boyz now face the uncertainty of a playoff route to reach next summer's tournament, while McClaren's assistant Dean Gorre revealed the emotional toll the defeat had taken, telling reporters: "Steve was crying. It affected him deeply."
