Former England manager Steve McLaren, who resigned from his position as Jamaica’s manager after failing to qualify for the World Cup, was moved to tears by his jersey number, it has been revealed. The former Three Lions head coach famously failed to qualify for Euro 2008, leading to his sacking, but has yet again failed to qualify for a major tournament.
Jamaica lost their spot to next summer’s North American World Cup to Curacao. Announcing his resignation, McLaren said: “Sometimes the best thing a leader can do is recognize when a new voice, new energy, a different perspective is needed to move this team forward.”
The 64-year-old saw Jamaica’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup end with a goalless draw with Curaçao, the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup. Assistant manager Dean Gore, who represented Dick Advocaat, claimed that McLaren was moved to tears by the disappointment.
“Steve was crying. It affected him a lot,” he said.
Curaçao emerged as the only unbeaten team in the qualifying campaign, topping Group B with 12 points, ahead of Jamaica by one point. Their draw secured passage alongside fellow CONCACAF members Panama and Haiti, who also secured a spot.
According to official statistics from Curaçao’s Central Statistics Office, the population as of January is 156,115. Iceland previously held the record as the smallest country to qualify for a major tournament, with a population of just over 350,000 when it qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Curaçao’s historic feat came despite Advocaat not being on the touchline. The 78-year-old was forced to miss the match after returning to the Netherlands the previous weekend due to family circumstances.
The veteran coach previously led the Dutch national team and has also coached South Korea, Belgium and Russia before taking up the post with Curaçao.
Jamaica had Brentford’s Rico Henry and former Everton defender Mason Holgate in their starting XI, but they were unable to get the win they needed to qualify for the World Cup. McLaren had declared beforehand that this was “Jamaica’s biggest match for many years”.
Following the devastating hurricanes that hit the Caribbean, McLaren had expressed hopes of delivering some much-needed cheer, but ultimately fell short. He said, “We’re going to try to at least bring positivity and smiles to the faces of people in the midst of adversity…because there’s nothing like a Jamaican smile, I can guarantee you that.”
