Panama condemn Reggae Boyz to the brink of elimination

On Sunday evening, Panama condemned Jamaica to their fifth defeat in 10 games during the ongoing CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying campaign with a 3-2 victory at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez.

West Ham United’s Michail Antonio gave Jamaica an early lead from the penalty spot in the fourth minute. Still, Jamaica self-destructed with its own goal by Javain Brown two minutes from the half-time interval.

Panama was in front for six minutes into the second half, thanks to Eric Davis making up for an earlier missed a penalty when he stabbed home, and substitute Azmahar Ariano added a third on 68 minutes.

Andre Gray, a 66th-minute substitute, ensured some anxious moments for the home side at the backend of the context with an 88th-minute header.

It was the second time Central Americans were defeating Jamaica in this series, having thumped the Reggae Boyz 3-0 inside their own “Office,” Kingston’s National Stadium on September 5, last year.

But Sunday’s embarrassing defeat aside, Panama may have ended Jamaica’s hunt for the place in the FIFA Qatar 2022 World Cup Finals slated for later this year. The Caribbean kingpins are a staggering 10 points off Panama's fourth-place position, with only four remaining in the 14-game series.

In other results on Sunday, leaders Canada took another giant step towards qualification following their 2-0 victory over the US, while Mexico and Costa Rica played out a 0-0 stalemate. El Salvador rubbed salt into the wounds of Jamaica by relegating the Boyz to seventh place after they blanked cellar-dwellers Honduras 2-0.

Canada leads the points table with 22 points, four ahead of the US and Mexico on 18, then Panama on 17, Costa Rica on 13, El Salvador on nine, Jamaica on seven, and Honduras with three points.

The top three teams advance directly to Qatar, with the fourth-placed team earning an inter-continental playoff for another shot at qualification.

The Reggae Boyz will return home on Monday to prepare for Wednesday’s game against Costa Rica to complete this latest three-game window.

The last window will be at the end of March with three other games.

Meanwhile, central defender Liam Moore, the former Reading FC captain, pulled out of the Jamaican squad on Sunday morning to return to England to meet the transfer deadline on Monday.

Moore lost the captaincy a few weeks ago after making his intentions clear that he wanted to leave the club.