Reggae Boyz vs Cuba Ends 0-0
On Friday, new head coach, Steve McClaren led Jamaica Men’s National Senior Team for the first time in the Concacaf Nations League versus Caribbean opponent Cuba inside the National Stadium in Kingston, with the match ending 0-0, a disappointment to many Jamaicans.
The match kicked off at 7:00 pm and the stadium notably had more patrons than usual in recent times.
As expected, Jamaica started off on the front foot, letting off multiple shots at Cuba’s goal in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Antonio was taken down on the edge of the box in the 42nd minute which resulted in a red card for a Cuban defender, leaving them with 10 men to play the rest of the match.
The freekick taken by Gray resulted in an eye-catching save from the Cuban goalkeeper, hence the Boyz went into halftime unable to score despite having over 70% possession of the ball.
Jamaica also started off the second half on the front foot but was unable to find the back of the net in the early stages with multiple chances being put wide.
52 minutes into the match the Boyz had an impressive 72% possession of the ball to Cuba’s 28%. Jamaica had 6 shots at goal while Cuba only had one shot at goal at that stage. “Jamaica should have scored at least 4 goals,” said one of the commentators of the match.
The starting lineup for Jamaica included: Andre Blake, Damion Lowe, Ethan Pinnock, Amari’i Bell, Dexter Lembikisa, Joel Latibeaudiere, Kasey Palmer, Bobby Reid, Michail Antonio, Demarai Gray and Jamal Lowe.
Jamaica vs Cuba football history involves 28 matches with Jamaica winning 10 and Cuba winning 11, they have now drawn 7 matches with this latest result.
Jamaica is ranked 59th worldwide while Cuba is ranked 167th, according to FIFA.
McClaren who worked with England’s National team and was recently at Manchester United before taking up the Jamaica head coach job is tasked with taking the island to the 2026 World Cup.
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