By Pablo Barrera / Image by Fedefut

Guatemala suffered a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of the Jamaican national team in Kingston. The goals were scored by Russell in the 26th minute and Brown in the 37th and 73rd minutes. This was the last match of this qualification phase for the World Cup qualifiers, on the road to the 2026 United States, Mexico, and Canada World Cup.

Both the Guatemalan and Jamaican national teams had already qualified for the next phase. Guatemala came into this match after a 4-2 victory over the Dominican Republic, securing their spot with 9 points so far. Jamaica, playing at home, took the top spot in the group with this result, leaving the "Bicolor" in second place.

The match saw the debut of Matt Evans for the national squad in the second half. Arquímedes Ordóñez, Olger Escobar, and Nathaniel Méndez Laing all started the game. Carlos Aguilar also started in defense. 

It's worth noting that Kuki Lemus was also a starter in this match. In fact, there were several rotations due to some injuries to players who didn't travel. The coaching staff took advantage of this to try out certain players from the start for this encounter.

Guatemala will face Jamaica again practically one week after this match, this time in the Gold Cup to be held in the United States in 2025. The national team is in a group with Jamaica, Panama, and Guadeloupe.

This match served to calibrate the national team's strength against more challenging opponents, like the Reggae Boyz.

It's notable that the great speed of the Caribbean players was evident throughout the match; in fact, several defensive lapses due to this factor were key to the goals scored.

For his part, Arquímedes Ordóñez had a couple of chances where he managed a somewhat awkward toe-poke shot that troubled the Jamaican goalkeeper. Likewise, Matt Evans also shot towards the Jamaican goalkeeper, who deflected the ball.

This result is more in line with what was expected, given the circumstances under which this match was anticipated to be played. The heat and other circumstances also influenced the outcome of the game.

Several of the Jamaican national team players play for elite teams in major European leagues, some even in the English Premier League.

Óscar Santis did not play in the match; it's presumed this was to rest him for the Gold Cup debut, precisely against Jamaica, and thus have a better opportunity. In the last Gold Cup, Guatemala showed greater parity against this team and almost managed to tie the match, but favorable circumstances didn't arise.