Reggae Boy Joel Latibeaudiere (right) challenges Jorge Benguche of Honduras for possession.
Concacaf Media
It may not have been the most polished performance by the Reggae Boyz in their goalless Concacaf Nations League Group B stalemate against Honduras, but Reggae Boyz Head coach Steve McClaren and midfielder Joel Latibeaudiere were still full of praise for his team.
For McClaren, the result—though a disappointing one for many of the fans that turned out at the National Stadium on Monday night—held immense significance as it not only secured Jamaica’s place in the quarterfinals of the tournament but also guaranteed them a spot in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.
The Boyz, who entered the contest needing only a point to progress, topped the League A group with eight points, with second-placed Honduras (seven points) also progressing.
Still, the Englishman, while praising his team’s determination, acknowledged that the performance wasn’t without its challenges.
“The vision was to finish top; we had a bad start to the group, and so I have to give credit to the team for the way they recovered with away wins at Honduras and Nicaragua. Everybody knew there were three teams going for the two top spots, and I think you could see that there was a little nervousness and a lack of willingness to really take the game to Honduras,” McClaren said in a post-game press conference.
“When you need a draw, the mentality can get in the way, and I think that did. But we said at half-time, we have to be resilient; we have to make sure that we get the result, and the key thing is the result. The key thing is we're top of the league because after the first game against Cuba, we were under pressure in Honduras and Nicaragua, and the Boyz delivered,” he added.
McClaren, who took over the reins of the team earlier this year, emphasized that while the Reggae Boyz didn’t light up the field with attacking flair and creativity, their resilience and discipline were commendable.
“It was more like we wanted to control the game, and so we didn't go forward with any tempo, any pace, and there was no speed in the game. But whatever the game was today (Monday), they delivered, and the result was probably more important than the actual performance,” McClaren declared.
“But we can play better. We made too many mistakes, but without the ball, the recovery and determination to keep a clean sheet was good. So credit to everybody for that. Eleven defend, eleven attack…they all did that. We got the result, we topped the league, and we look forward to the draw,” he noted.
McClaren was quick to underline the importance of this achievement, particularly as the team continues to develop under his leadership.
His team and Honduras now join Concacaf’s top-ranked teams, United States, Panama, Mexico, and Canada, in the knockout round, with the top two finishers in Group A—to be decided on Tuesday—set to meet them there.
“I wanted desperately to get into the knockout stage, so we've done it. Credit to the players, we've achieved that, and now we really look forward to the draw and who we get,” the tactician declared.
He continued: “But I'm just learning so much, and don't get me wrong, I'm making mistakes as well, but I'm learning and the more mistakes I make, the quicker I will learn and I believe we'll get better because we've got good players.
“Like everything, you're always aiming for consistency, so for me, I'm so pleased about that the players understand what we are trying to implement. We're not doing it fluidly at the present moment, but they understand it. But if you want to get to the World Cup, you're going to have to be able to want the ball, deal with the ball, and be brave on the ball, and that is the mentality that we're looking for."
Meanwhile, Latibeaudiere expressed cautious optimism about Jamaica’s potential in the competition, as he too stressed that there’s still work to be done.
The Boyz ended third in the last Concacaf Nations League edition after losing their semi-final contest to United States.
“I think we should be very confident going into the (quarterfinal) games. As a football player, these are the games that you want to play in; you want to play against the top dogs, you want to go and have that challenge and prove yourself, especially from last time. We were so unlucky not to get to the final, and it just shows what we can do as a group, so we should be very confident going into it,” Latibeaudiere reasoned.
“We need to go back to our clubs now. We need to stay fit and when we come back, we need to come with an open mind and we learn from these camps and we go into that one with that mentality that we're going to go and put our best foot forward. We deserve to be top of the group and so we now have to go over that mentality,” he noted.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills
Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.
The Dutchman has made a hugely positive start to life at Anfield since replacing long-serving Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.
Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.
Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.
"Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.
"Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.
"It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much.
"He hasn’t been arrogant and said, 'I'm going to rip it up and start fresh'. It wasn't broken; it was already successful. He's just added to it."
Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.
Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.
"Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'.
"That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."
Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.
They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).
"Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences.
"You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."
Samuda and Munn-Barrow triumph at AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament
Owen Samuda and Jodi Munn-Barrow emerged as champions of the AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament, held at the Caymanas Golf Club in St. Catherine over the weekend. The annual event, one of Jamaica’s most prestigious golf tournaments, saw over 80 golfers competing despite challenges posed by recent weather conditions.
Samuda, who has been enjoying a stellar run of form, dominated the male category with back-to-back rounds of one-under-par 71, finishing with an impressive two-under-par 142. He won by a commanding 13-stroke margin, cementing his reputation as one of the country’s top golfers.
Reflecting on his victory, Samuda shared, “After the disappointment in the Jamaica Open last week, I realized that you can’t drive a car while looking behind you. I came into this tournament with a lot of confidence and positive thoughts. I played really well yesterday, and even better today, so I feel great about the win.”
Samuda’s performance marked the only under-par scores across the tournament. Former national champion Oshae Haye finished second with an 11-over-par 155, while Zandre Roye and Sean Morris tied for third at 14-over-par 158.
In the female category, Jamaica Golf Association President Jodi Munn-Barrow delivered her trademark consistency to claim the Ladies 0-6 title. Munn-Barrow posted scores of 75 on both days, totaling six-over-par 150 to secure her win by a comfortable 21 strokes over Michele McCreath, who finished at 171.
“It was a little more difficult this time,” Munn-Barrow admitted. “I haven’t been playing much because of my involvement with the Jamaica Open, so my game this weekend was scrappy. But I managed to get the ball around, and I’m happy with how I performed despite not being at my best.”
The tournament also featured numerous category winners, including Quentin Hugh-Sam and Philip Gooden, who scored 168 to win the Men & Men Senior 7-12 section. Other winners included Gifford Wilmott (Men & Men Senior 13-24) with a score of 157, and Diane Hudson, who topped the Ladies 13 and over category with a score of 184.
The event, held for the 29th year, is a tribute to seven of Jamaica’s past national golf representatives: Milton "Buddy" Josephs, Izette Rhone, Lenan "Lennie" Chin, John Fulford, Al Chong, Claude Stewart, and Mark Chin. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Lawes Street Trade Training Centre, with the goal of raising JMD$1 million annually.
Peter Chin, president of the Buccaneers Golf Club, praised the event’s resilience despite weather challenges. “This tournament has been running since the 1990s and is the oldest golf tournament outside of the Jamaica Open on the JGA calendar. The course was in great condition considering the rain over the past few weeks,” Chin said.
The AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament was sponsored by AMG Packaging, with Scientific & Medical Supplies as an associate sponsor.
Rodri: Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt
Manchester City and Spain star Rodri has suggested that Lionel Messi pipped Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest footballer of all time.
The 28-year-old was recently awarded the 2024 Ballon d'Or as recognition for a period in which he won the Champions League in 2023 and Euro 2024 with Spain the next year.
Ex-Barcelona man Messi has won three of the last four Ballon d'Ors prior to Rodri, with the midfielder claiming that the latter is the greatest "without any doubt" during an interview on Spanish TV.
"Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt. Cristiano has managed to match Messi without innate talent. But those of us who have played against them can see the difference," said Rodri, speaking to El Hormiguero.
"We didn’t want Cristiano to step into the box because he was lethal there. But with Messi, the danger was everywhere on the pitch."
Ronaldo has scored a total of 928 goals in his career for club and country, winning 34 major trophies including five Champions League titles. He has also won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions.
Messi, meanwhile, has scored 877 goals, won the Champions League on four occasions and the Ballon d'Or five times, most recently in 2023.
Messi is now at Inter Miami, while Rodri is recovering from an ACL injury at Manchester City, although the two faced each other in LaLiga during the midfielder's spells at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid before his Premier League move.
"When Messi got the ball, you’d think: 'Oh, danger'," he added. "When I first started playing against him, I tried to take the ball from him, and he dodged you as if you were a bull in the ring. The feeling I had was that something bad was about to happen."
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