Crying ex-England boss Steve McClaren quits as Jamaica manager after being beaten to World Cup spot by smallest country ever to reach the finals

Former England manager Steve McClaren suffered more major-tournament qualifying embarrassment overnight as his Jamaica team lost out to Curacao for a place at the World Cup – the smallest nation ever to reach the finals.

McClaren, 64, was derided as ‘the Wally with the brolly’ when he failed to lead England to Euro 2008 in the Wembley rain at the hands of Croatia.

And now he has quit his job in the Caribbean after Jamaica failed to qualify with a 0-0 draw against minnows Curacao. Instead, the Reggae Boyz will be left to fight it out for a place at next summer’s tournament in a play-off tournament.

In a post-match press conference where he confirmed his departure, McClaren told reporters: ‘Over the last 18 months I have given everything I have to this job. Leading this team has been one of the greatest honours of my career.

‘But football is a results business and tonight we have fallen short of our goal, which was to qualify from this group.

‘It is the responsibility of the leader to step forward, take accountability and make decisions in the best interests of the team. 

The Reggae Boyz were held to a dismal 0-0 draw in Kingston by minnows Curacao, who have qualified for their first ever major tournament – while Jamaica will now head to the play-offs

‘After deep reflection and an honest assessment of where we are and where we need to go, I have decided to step down as head coach of the Jamaican national team.’

He added: ‘Sometimes the best thing a leader can do is to recognise when a fresh voice, new energy and a different perspective is required to move this team forward. I’m positive this team will succeed in March.

‘I thank you, Jamaica. I will be forever grateful to have led the Reggae Boyz, really has been an honour, respect and one love to you all.’

Michael Ricketts, President of the Jamaica Football Federation, delivered a blunt assessment. 

‘To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. We engaged Heimir Hallgrimsson, then he left, we thought Steve McClaren would have been a good replacement, it has turned out that he has not been such a good replacement. We are supremely disappointed,’ he said.

‘We will reorganise, we have a second bite of the cherry, we will put things together and of course have an emergency meeting with the technical staff, and we will put an interim coach in place.’

According to the tiny nation’s assistant manager Dean Gorre, stepping in for Dick Advocaat, it brought McClaren to tears. ‘Steve was crying,’ he said. ‘It affected him that much.

McClaren only took over as Jamaica boss after leaving Manchester United, where he was assistant manager to Erik ten Hag, in the summer of 2024.

There was joy for Curacao, who are headed to the World Cup for the first time ever

The tiny Caribbean nation became the smallest country to ever qualify for the tournament

With the three Concacaf giants – USA, Mexico and Canada – already qualified for next year’s tournament by virtue of being the host nations, this was seen as a golden opportunity for Jamaica to secure their spot at only their second World Cup. Their sole appearance having been at France ’98, when they finished third in their group and failed to advance to the knockout stages.

But not even a rousing pre-match speech from the island’s most famous son – Usain Bolt, the fastest man of all time – could help McClaren’s side from limping to a goalless draw in Kingston.

Instead, the night belonged to Curacao. They became the smallest nation by population to qualify for a World Cup and will be joined by CONCACAF sides Panama and Haiti who also booked their spots.

Curacao, 37 miles off the Venezuela coast, only became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010, following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. Ten years ago they were 150th in Fifa’s world rankings. They are now 82nd.

They finished as the only undefeated nation in the tournament and finished atop of Group B with 12 points to advance to the World Cup for the first time in its history.

There was further embarrassment for McClaren, given Curacao secured the historic result despite not having his opposite Advocaat on the bench. The 78-year-old manager missed the crucial match because he had to return to the Netherlands last weekend for family reasons.

Advocaat was at the helm of the Netherlands national team for three stints and managed South Korea, Belgium and Russia before taking the job with Curacao, and will become the oldest coach at a World Cup – beating Otto Rehhagel’s record when he was in charge of Greece aged 71 in 2010.

With the three Concacaf giants – USA, Mexico and Canada – qualified for next year’s World Cup by virtue of being the hosts, this was seen as a golden opportunity for Jamaica to go through

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics in Curacao, the country has a population of 156,115 persons as of last January – similar to the size of Cambridge or Huddersfield

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics in Curacao, the country has a population of 156,115 persons as of last January – similar to the size of Cambridge or Huddersfield. Iceland, with a population of just over 350,000 was the smallest country to reach the World Cup when it qualified for the tournament in Russia in 2018.

Panama advanced to its second World Cup after defeating El Salvador 3-0 on first-half goals from César Blackman and Erick Davis. Jose Luis Rodriguez added a goal for the Panamanians, who have Russia 2018 as their only World Cup appearance.