Jamaica’s senior Reggae Boyz closed out their Group B Concacaf Nations League campaign with a goalless stalemate against Honduras at the National Stadium on Monday night.

While their performance wasn’t the most impressive in terms of flair or attacking threat, the Jamaicans did enough to finish atop the League A group on eight points to secure a quarterfinals berth.

Honduras, who placed second on seven points, also advanced to the next stage of the competition. Nicaragua (seven points), Trinidad and Tobago (five points), Cuba (three points), and French Guiana (one point) complete the group.

Jamaica 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.

The Jamaicans entered the game aiming to build on their 2-0 win over Nicaragua just days earlier, but found themselves stifled in the final third, particularly in the first half.

In fact, it was a slow start by both teams, as they took some time to settle into their respective game plans to prove an attacking threat in open play. The Reggae Boyz moreso displayed patience in an attempt to efficiently execute the possession-based style play desired by Head coach Steve McClaren.

However, while they tried to work out how to break down Honduras' low block tactics in midfield, the visitors launched a few good counterattacks from which they should have piled misery on the Boyz, but for a lack of quality in the final third.

Honduras had eight shots at goal in the first half, compared to Jamaica’s solitary effort, which came in the 33rd when an unmarked Ethan Pinnock fired wide from Demarai Gray's corner kick.

Prior to that, Honduras' first warning shot came in the seventh minute from Edwin Rodriguez, whose right-footer from a distance was easily palmed down by Andre Blake.

Three minutes later, a short pass by Mason Holgate was picked up by Honduras and almost proved costly. Luckily for the Boyz, Joel Latibeaudiere recovered well to avert the danger.

Though they bossed possession, the Reggae Boyz struggled to convert their dominance into clear-cut scoring opportunities, leaving fans at the National Stadium craving more attacking dynamism.

This, as Honduras continued to show more purpose in the attacking third and kept Blake busy, as Jorge Alvarez's 21st-minute shot from the top of the 18-yard box went straight at the Philadelphia Union goaltender.

In the 32nd, Holgate again gave up possession to Antony Lozano, who went on the break, but the Honduran, sporting the number nine jersey and the captain's armband, muffed his effort and gave the Jamaicans a reprieve.

Lozano went on another break in the 38th, but again lacked composure where it mattered most as he slammed a rushed right-footer into the sidenetting.

The Jamaicans were more spirited on the resumption, especially with the introduction of Renaldo Cephas and Kaheim Dixon. Both fleet-footed attackers combined well at times with Michail Antonio and Gray, but their hunt for the go-head goal proved fruitless. 

Dixon went close in the 69th when he drove a right-footer along the turf, but the effort went just wide of the right upright. 

The former Clarendon College and Arnett Gardens stalwart, who now plies his trade at Charlton Athletic, applied pressure in the 79th and went down in a challenge for possession with Honduras' goalkeeper Edrick Menjivar. However, his appeal for a penalty was waved off by American referee Armando Villarreal.

Honduras' best effort of the half came in the 80th when Kervin Arriaga lashed a stinging left-footed drive from about 20 yards out, but it was tipped over by Blake, who produced another steady performance between the posts, to not only keep a clean sheet but, more importantly, demonstrate the calm leadership he's known for.

Ronald Koeman believed his Netherlands side fell short in "all facets of football" after they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Germany in the Nations League on Monday.

Jamie Leweling netted the only goal of the encounter at the Allianz Arena, marking his senior international debut in style to put his nation on the brink of qualification. 

The Netherlands struggled during the contest, ending the game with an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.13, with Donyell Malen's 89th minute effort their only attempt on target.

Koeman's side also managed just eight touches in the opposition box compared to Germany's 26, despite edging the possession at the full-time whistle. 

"If you go back too far, you bring that on yourself," Koeman said.

"We came up short on all sides, perhaps in all facets of football. We did things differently at half-time and then we got a bit more rest. But they were much better today.

"I am not satisfied by our performance. The Germans were the better, faster and physically stronger. They created more chances.

"We lost too many balls in the midfield. We went too far back. That was not the plan. The plan was to put pressure forward on the right side. But it did not happen."

The result leaves the Netherlands in second in Group A3, level on points with Hungary after Dominik Szoboszlai's double handed them a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Stand-in captain Stefan de Vrij echoed Koeman's thoughts after the encounter, saying his side deserved to lose against Germany.

"It seems clear to me that it was a deserved defeat," said De Vrij.

"The first half was very mediocre. We were very sloppy and gave away a number of balls just like that, which allowed them to become dangerous.

"In the second half it was a bit better, but it's hard to create chances."

The Lazio defender took the armband in place of Virgil van Dijk, who was suspended following his red card against Hungary.

Though the Netherlands did not do enough in attack, De Vrij said that Van Dijk's absence from the team had an impact. 

"Yes, of course you miss him. He's a very important player and he's our captain. And he's a great defender, so it makes sense that he's missed," De Vrij concluded.

Kylian Mbappe was pictured by Real Madrid during an individual recovery programme amid growing questions over his France absence.

Madrid released a statement on Monday to update on the forward's recovery from a muscle issue that kept him out of France's October internationals squad.

Questions had persisted from reports in France after Mbappe was spotted in a Swedish nightclub on Thursday, when Didier Deschamps' side hammered Israel.

Deschamps insisted the matter was not an issue to discuss, though speculation remains over Mbappe's commitment to France, with reports suggesting he is prioritising Madrid and a potential Ballon d'Or.

Los Blancos seemingly sought to quash any growing murmurs of discontent by confirming Mbappe's appearance at the club before France's 2-1 win over Belgium in Brussels.

"Kylian Mbappe continues to work on his individual fitness plan," a short club statement read. 

"The forward is working on his own as he tries to recover fully from the discomfort in the biceps femoris of his left leg.

"He trained on his own in the gym and out on the pitch at Real Madrid City, under the guidance of Antonio Pintus, who is in charge of the club's physical preparation."

Mbappe subsequently posted a picture on Instagram of him in the Madrid gym, captioned "back to work" as the former Paris Saint-Germain forward continues his recovery.

The 25-year-old was joined by goalkeeping pair Thibaut Courtois and Andriy Lunin before more of Carlo Ancelotti's squad return from international football on Tuesday.

Deschamps' men did not feel Mbappe's absence, however, as Randal Kolo Muani's brace secured the vital victory over Belgium to boost their top-two hopes in the Nations League.

Luis de la Fuente backed his Spain side to step-up in their Nations League clash against Serbia, despite being without a plethora of their "irreplaceable" players.

Spain know a victory over Tuesday's opponents will put them within touching distance of qualification, having taken seven points from their first three games. 

However, De la Fuente will be without Barcelona's Lamine Yamal for the clash in Cordoba, with the 17-year-old the latest name to withdraw from La Roja's ranks. 

Yamal limped off in the 93rd minute of their Nations League win over Denmark before returning to Barcelona to undergo further tests, revealing he suffered a hamstring strain.

"(Yamal) is irreplaceable," De la Fuente told a press conference on Monday. "(But) we have to play eleven and whoever replaces him will want to make a statement.

"Lamine is fantastic, but... you have to understand that, in this life, nobody gives anything away for free. Whoever has to replace him, I'm sure they will do it very well."

Yamal has since been replaced in the squad by Atletico Madrid's Rodrigo Riquelme, who will be hoping to make an impact against Serbia. 

Yamal's absence only added to Spain's injury woes, with the European champions now without seven key players for the visit of Dragan Stojkovic's side.

Nico Williams, Unai Simon, Dani Carvajal, Robin Le Normand, Rodri and Dani Olmo, who all starred in their Euro 2024 success, are all also unavailable due to injury. 

"They are (too) irreplaceable, each one brings different things to the table. But we are lucky that this is a national team and the best players come here," De la Fuente said.

"I never miss anyone, because those who are playing are (also) very good.

"Obviously, we don't work with closed blocks as it happens at club level, but we also have players who have been here for a long time and internalise the messages.

"In a club you have much more time to do many more things than we do."

Craig Bellamy insists there is still room for improvement for Wales after seeing off Montenegro 1-0 to make it four games without defeat.

Harry Wilson's 36th-minute penalty earned Wales all three points in Monday's Nations League Group B4 clash at Cardiff City Stadium.

Bellamy, who succeeded Rob Page in July, is the first Wales head coach to avoid defeat in his first four games in charge of the senior men's side.

As well as beating Montenegro home and away, Wales have also drawn 0-0 at home to Turkiye and 2-2 in Iceland.

Reflecting on his side's latest win, Bellamy told S4C: "I was impressed by us being able to control the tempo of the second half, but we still need improvement on it.

"You will get breaks and it feels like you can score because they have players forward, but it's also dangerous then for the counter.

"That transitional game becomes a little complicated, whereas in the first half they sat a lot deeper which allows us to really control the tempo of the game. Of course at the moment that really suits us.

"But we have got to stay calm, in transition but even when we have knockdowns and balls in and around.

"You secure the ball and pass to your team-mates and there are still bits for improvement we need, but we were better than last time."

Match-winner Wilson has now been directly involved in nine goals in his past 11 appearances for Wales, as many as in his previous 41 matches.

The Fulham forward kept his place in a much-changed Wales side on the back of Friday's draw in Iceland, which showed seven alterations in all.

Wilson was the star performer in a game Wales dominated for large parts, with Montenegro failing to register a single shot on target.

It means the Dragons have avoided facing an effort on target in two of their past seven matches across all competitions, matching the tally from their previous 34 games.

For all Wales' dominance, though, Montenegro substitute Andrija Radulovic fired a 20-yard drive against the crossbar.

"There were a lot of changes, and a lot of players who all definitely deserved the opportunity to play as well," Bellamy added. "The Nations League is so good and so competitive."

Wales trail leaders Turkiye by two points heading into next month's contest in Kayseri, before the Dragons round off their Nations League campaign at home to Iceland.

Montenegro, bottom of the table without a point and on a record run of six losses in a row, host Iceland and Turkiye in their final two matches.

Randal Kolo Muani's brace was enough to see 10-man France claim an important 2-1 triumph over Belgium in their Nations League Group A2 clash on Monday. 

Kolo Muani netted either side of Lois Openda's first-half header before the visitors saw out the remaining 14 minutes after Aurelien Tchouameni's dismissal for two bookable offences.

Belgium had the opportunity to take the lead when William Saliba's untimely slip wiped out Openda, only for Youri Tielemans to blaze his spot-kick over the crossbar.

Didier Deschamps' side made no such mistake from 12 yards soon after, with Kolo Muani converting after Wout Faes' handball to hand France the lead in the 34th minute.

Openda restored parity on the stroke of half-time, nodding Timothy Castagne's cross beyond Mike Maignan, only for Kolo Muani to edge France back into the lead when rising highest to power a header underneath the grasp of Koen Casteels just past the hour.

Belgium were handed a late lifeline in their attempts to snatch a point when France's stand-in captain Tchouameni received a second yellow card for a foul on Tielemans, yet the visitors held on for an important win.

Domenico Tedesco's side sit five points behind France and six adrift of leaders Italy with two games remaining after this significant blow to their top-two hopes in Brussels.

Data Debrief: Kolo Muani Belgium's nemesis once again

Kolo Muani continued his impressive streak for France in the Nations League here, notching his third goal of the competition, all of which have come against Belgium.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker ended the contest as Les Bleus' biggest attacking threat, registering an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.86 of France's 1.42 total.

Tchouameni, however, endured a night to forget in Belgium as his red saw him become the first player since Jules Kounde in September 2021 to be sent off for France, and the first as Les Bleus' captain at kick-off since Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final.

Jamie Leweling netted the winner on his senior international debut as Germany beat the Netherlands 1-0 in Monday's Nations League clash at the Allianz Arena.

The Stuttgart forward, in for the injured Deniz Undav, had a goal within two minutes of his first cap ruled out after a VAR check showed Serge Gnabry was offside in the build-up.

However, there was no denying Leweling in the 64th minute as the 23-year-old thumped a loose ball inside the box into the bottom corner past Bart Verbruggen to give the hosts a deserved lead in Munich.

Verbruggen had undoubtedly been the busier of the two goalkeepers up until that point, making four saves prior to the breakthrough from Leweling, who also had a goal-bound shot blocked near the line by Stefan de Vrij.

The Netherlands twice went close to equalising in the final 15 minutes, but Oliver Baumann got a faint touch to a long-range Xavi Simons drive to help it onto the crossbar and then superbly helped Donyell Malen's powerful effort wide.

The win moves Germany to 10 points from their first four Group A3 matches, five points clear of the Netherlands and Hungary - 2-0 winners away at Bosnia-Herzegovina - who each have five points with two games remaining.

Data Debrief: Debutants decide the game

Leweling was a threat throughout on his debut as he scored one, had another disallowed and had an effort blocked off the line, generating an expected goals (xG) value of 0.35 - the highest of any player on the field.

Just as key to the victory was fellow Germany debutant Baumann, who produced two big saves in the second half. 

Aged 34 years and 131 days, he became the second-oldest Germany debutant (after Matthias Mauritz) in the post-war era and the oldest goalkeeper to make his debut in the country's history.

Italy moved within touching distance of the Nations League quarter-finals after Giovanni Di Lorenzo's double powered them to a 4-1 triumph over Israel on Monday.

Luciano Spalletti's side will need just a point from either of their last two matches in November to secure progression after a convincing victory in Udine that pushed Israel further towards relegation.

Israel goalkeeper Omri Glazer provided stern resistance in the first half before Mateo Retegui's penalty, awarded for a foul by Dor Peretz on Sandro Tonali, broke the deadlock four minutes before the interval.

Captain Di Lorenzo doubled his side's advantage before the hour, powering a header in from close range after Giacomo Raspadori's inviting free-kick, though Israel halved the deficit with 24 minutes remaining.

Mohamed Abu Fani's corner sneaked past all inside the area, including Guglielmo Vicario, whose appeals for a foul by Dor Peretz were ignored by the officials.

That visiting hope was short-lived, however, as Davide Frattesi swept home a first-time finish from Federico Dimarco's low cross just six minutes after Abu Fani's bizarre goal.

Di Lorenzo capped the scoring 11 minutes from time, profiting from Destiny Udogie's powering run before receiving possession on the edge of the area and drilling into the bottom-left corner.

Data Debrief: Superior finishing the difference

Spalletti will be delighted by his side finishing the game when in control, unlike what they were able to do in Thursday's 2-2 draw with Belgium, largely thanks to the excellence of Di Lorenzo.

The Italy captain scored twice from just two attempts that were worth 0.28 expected goals (xG), suggesting Di Lorenzo's quality of finishing far exceeded the chances on offer.

Since his first goal with the Azzurri, in September 2021 against Lithuania, Di Lorenzo's five goals are also the most by an Italy defender in that period with Dimarco next on three.

Roberto Martinez has "no doubt" Cristiano Ronaldo can play a part for Portugal when they take on Scotland in their Nations League clash as he played down fears of fatigue.

Ronaldo was on the scoresheet in Portugal's 3-1 win over Poland in Warsaw and was substituted off with 63 minutes on the clock.

Martinez's men are top of Nations League Group A1 and there were suggestions Ronaldo may be rested for Tuesday's clash at Hampden Park.

However, the ex-Belgium boss has suggested that will not be the case, with the Al-Nassr forward likely to feature either as a starter or a substitute. 

"I think the age of a player doesn't come to play," he said at a press conference. 

"Ronaldo doesn't work as a 39-year-old player. He doesn't play certainly as a 39-year-old player.

"I think we are assessing every player and how they feel. Cristiano has been working really well in this camp. 

"The difficulty of playing two games away from home is more how can you prepare between the two? How can you recover with the players?"

Nico Williams holds fighting against racism as his sole lifetime goal amid continued issues with such abuse in Spain.

The Athletic Bilbao forward was subject to racial abuse away to Atletico Madrid last season, leading Spain's footballing authorities to force a partial closure of their south stand for two matches.

Vinicius Junior has suffered similar targeting for Atletico's fierce rivals Real Madrid, with the Brazilian suggesting Spain should be stripped of the honour in hosting the 2030 World Cup unless progress is made.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has attempted numerous anti-racism measures in an effort to clamp down on the issue, while Spanish court made history by issuing the first criminal conviction for racial insults in a football stadium in June.

Williams will not be satisfied until the abuse is erased entirely, however, as the Spain winger – whose brother Inaki plays for Ghana and alongside him at club level – pledged to continue in the much-needed fight.

"My brother and I, as black people, have an important task in this life, which is the fight against racism," Williams said in an interview with Spanish media outlet El Mundo.

"It's my number one goal. As a public figure, in order to contribute to that fight, I cannot be sidetracked or become a freak and not have my feet on the ground."

The issues remain prevalent in Spain – a Mallorca fan was issued a 12-month suspended prison sentence for racially insulting Vinicius and Villarreal's Samuel Chukwueze in September. 

"I think that Spain is moving forward on the right path and we must continue like this. I am very happy to see that progress is being made," Williams added.

"There are always people who try to sell another image of immigrants, but they are a minority."

Williams attracted attention from Barcelona and a host of European giants after playing a decisive role in Spain's victory at Euro 2024. 

The 22-year-old believes his efforts with the national team embody a multicultural Spain, having been born in the country to Ghanaian parents, with his brother Inaki opting to play for his home country.

"It is important to make everyone aware that many people come to Spain to earn their bread, to try to achieve a future that they do not have in their countries and to give a better life to their children," he continued.

"My family did that journey. I am going to try to do everything in my power so that these people can have a better life."

A brace from captain Derrel Garcia propelled ten-man St Benedict's College to a 2-0 victory over East Mucurapo Secondary School to strengthen their lead atop the Premier Division of the Secondary Schools Football League at the Queen’s Royal College Ground, Serpentine Road, Port-of-Spain on Saturday. 

Garcia’s first goal came in the 59th minute as he quickly latched on to a Cam'Ron Burke pass before unleashing a right-footed shot from 20-yards out that beat Mucurapo goalkeeper Orlando Francis. 

The former Trinidad & Tobago youth player got his second goal of the game nine minutes from full time with a brilliantly placed strike from just outside the box after beating two defenders.

The win instead ensured that St. Benedict's College maintained a six-point advantage at the top while defending champions Fatima College played to 2-2 draw with Speyside at their home ground on Mucurapo Road, Port-of-Spain. 

The other results on Saturday were as follows:

Malick Secondary 1-3 Presentation College

Fatima College 2-2 Speyside Secondary

Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High 1-1 Signal Hill Secondary

Naparima College 2-0 St Mary's College

St Anthony's College 4-1 Queen’s Royal College

St Augustine Secondary 1-1 San Juan North Secondary

Trinity College 1-1 Arima North Secondary

St. Benedict’s lead the 16-team table with 28 points from 10 games, six ahead of Presentation in second and eight ahead of defending champions Fatima College in third.

St. Anthony’s and Arima North close out the top five with 18 points each while the top 10 is rounded out by Naparima (15 points), St. Augustine (14 points), QRC (13 points), Malick (11 points) and San Juan North (10 points).

St. Mary’s (10 points), Signal Hill (9 points), Trinity East (7 points), Speyside (6 points), East Mucurapo (6 points) and Miracle Ministries (4 points) round out the points standings.

Steve Clarke is aiming to prove the doubters wrong when Scotland welcome Portugal to Hampden Park in their Nations League clash on Tuesday. 

Scotland sit bottom of Group A1 after losing all three of their matches in the competition, the latest of which came in a 2-1 defeat to Croatia in Zagreb. 

The loss saw Clarke's side extend their longest winless run in competitive matches in their history to nine (D3 L6), while they have now lost four consecutive games for the first time in five years.

Scotland's recent run of form includes their dismal showing at Euro 2024, as they failed to reach the knockout stages for a sixth time at a major tournament, picking up just one point from their three games in Germany, though Clarke remains optimistic.

"It's a tough moment, no doubt about it, but we believe in ourselves," Clarke told BBC Sport.

"After 20 years in the international wilderness, this group has got to two major tournaments and been promoted to the top level of the Nations League, so I don't understand why there would be doubts.

"We have to believe in what we are doing and when I look at the players on the pitch, I believe in what we're doing.

"The players understand where we are in the process, and they are ready to go again.

"They understand that we are playing difficult opponents, and they understand the squad could be stronger.

"I don't speak about that too much, since we have to concentrate on who we have here.

"We have to go out against Portugal, and we know we have to be good at everything we do in the game."

But in aiming to rediscover that winning feeling, they face an uphill task against a Portugal side who have won each of their last seven competitive away games by an aggregate score of 22-1.

Scotland have also lost each of their last four matches against the Selecao, with the Scots only currently on a longer run of defeats against Belgium and Brazil (both six). 

But one positive from their display against Croatia was the performance of Ben Doak.

At 18 years and 336 days old, Doak became the youngest player to start a competitive match for Scotland since Willie Johnston against Poland in 1965 (18 years and 298 days) against Croatia.

However, Clarke stressed the importance of not piling too much pressure onto the youngster's shoulders so early into his international career. 

"We're already starting to grow the next generation of players," Clarke said.

"As well as trying to be good now, I’m trying to leave a group who are ready to carry on. We don't want 20 years after this group without the success we all want.

"We want Ben to be a talent for the next 15 years, not 15 months, so don't put too much pressure on him.

"He's a young man, he will make mistakes in the game, he will do really good things in the game.

"We need to get the balance right between giving Ben the opportunity to play, which he's more than capable of taking, and protecting him a bit, make sure we don't overhype."

Barcelona have confirmed Lamine Yamal suffered a left hamstring strain while on international duty with Spain.

The 17-year-old limped off in the 93rd minute of their Nations League clash against Denmark on Saturday before returning to Barcelona to undergo further tests.

He was one of La Roja's brightest players in the 1-0 victory, having five of their 25 shots, the most by a Spain player in the competition this season.

However, he is now set for an undetermined spell on the sidelines, though he is likely to miss their LaLiga match against Sevilla on Sunday.

Yamal has started 11 of Barca's 12 games in all competitions so far, and Hansi Flick will be hoping he is not set to endure a long layoff, with matches against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Real Madrid in the league also coming up next week.

If he is not involved, it would prove a huge blow for Barcelona. This season, Yamal and Robert Lewandowski have been involved in 21 Barcelona goals in LaLiga, the best goalscoring duo of any club in the big five European Leagues.

"Tests carried out this morning on first team player Lamine Yamal have confirmed that he has a left hamstring strain. His return to training will be determined by his recovery time," Barcelona said in a statement on social media.

Barcelona return to league action this weekend when they welcome Sevilla to the Camp Nou on Sunday.

Concacaf on Thursday announced new formats for the Confederation’s U-17 Men’s and Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.

The announcement follows FIFA’s confirmation earlier this year that it will increase the frequency of the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Both will become annual competitions with expanded participation to 48 and 24 teams, respectively.

The new Men’s Qualifiers will consist of a single round. The participating Concacaf Member Associations will be divided into eight groups, with the number of teams per group varying depending on the total number of participants.

After round-robin play, in which each team will play against each team in its group once, the group winners (eight teams in total) will qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The first edition of the Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers under the new format will take place between February 7 and 16, 2025.

The 2025 Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers official draw will take place on October 24 at the Concacaf Headquarters in Miami, FL. Fans will be able to follow on the Confederation’s YouTube channel starting at 11 am ET.

The new Women’s Qualifiers will consist of two rounds, with the four highest-ranked participating Concacaf Member Associations (based on the Concacaf U-17 Women’s Rankings) receiving a bye to the Final Round.

For the Round One, the Member Associations ranked fifth and below will be split into six groups, with the number of teams per group varying depending on the total number of participants. After round-robin play, the six group winners and the two best second-place finishers (eight teams in total) will advance to the Final Round, joining the four top-ranked teams (twelve in total).
 
The Final Round will also be played in a group format, consisting of three groups of four teams each. After round-robin play, the three group winners and the best second-place finisher (four teams in total) will qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
 
The first edition of the Concacaf U-17 Women’s Qualifiers under the new format will take place between January 27 and February 1, 2025 (Round One) and March 31 and April 6, 2025 (Final Round).  
 
The 2025 Concacaf U-17 Women’s Qualifiers Round One official draw will take place on October 16 at the Concacaf Headquarters in Miami, FL. Fans will be able to follow on the Confederation’s YouTube channel starting at 11 am ET.

Demarai Gray and Head Coach Steve McClaren have called on Jamaican fans to pack the National Stadium in Kingston on Monday night as the Reggae Boyz face Honduras in a critical CONCACAF Nations League Group B showdown. Jamaica needs at least a draw to secure a spot in the quarter-finals, but with Honduras' dangerous attacking form and the possibility of Nicaragua defeating French Guiana, a win is the safer route to qualification.

Monday’s clash set for 8:00 pm (Jamaica) will be the 30th meeting between the two nations, with both sides having won 12 games each, and five ending in draws. The Reggae Boyz are undefeated in their last seven encounters with Honduras, a streak that stretches back to 2013. However, Honduras remains a formidable opponent, leading the group in scoring with eight goals and looking to shake their recent defensive struggles.

Gray, who has been instrumental in Jamaica's recent back-to-back away wins against Honduras (2-1) and Nicaragua (2-0), emphasized the importance of fan support for Monday’s high-stakes encounter. "I think it's very important. Going to those countries and playing, I kind of like the hostile feeling about it. It kind of gives me a boost as well, but I think the stature of Jamaica...I've said it before, the Jamaican culture is popular all over the world, and I am honoured to represent the country," Gray said.

The Reggae Boyz winger urged fans to turn out in large numbers and create an atmosphere that will inspire the players and intimidate the opposition. "As a player, it's something I am always looking forward to—the stadium being full, a sellout, having that atmosphere. The 12th man behind you is massively important, and I've played football long enough to know it can intimidate teams as well. With the quality we have, a lot of teams will be intimidated already, so with the fans backing us, it’s just an extra bonus for us," Gray added.

Coach McClaren echoed Gray’s sentiments, highlighting the role of the fans in creating a powerful home advantage. "One of our goals, the vision that I have, is to fill the stadium, to have a full house, and for it to be rocking. With the music and everything going on around the game, it’s very different from Nicaragua, very different from Honduras, but just as intimidating," McClaren said.

He explained that the energy from the crowd could provide the team with the extra push needed to secure the win. "It's not about intimidation; it's about uplifting the home players. That's what a home advantage is—to lift you above the opponent, to give you an extra 10 to 20 percent to deliver the result. So, we need the fans," McClaren stressed.

With Jamaica ranked 61st in the latest FIFA rankings, 16 places above Honduras, and in good form heading into this decisive fixture, the support from the Jamaican crowd could be the key to securing a quarter-final berth in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Ma