Crying ex-England boss Steve McClaren quits as Jamaica manager after allowing World Cup’s new smallest country ever to beat them to a place in the finals

Former England manager Steve McClaren suffered further embarrassment overnight in major tournament qualifiers as his Jamaican team lost to Curacao to book a place in the World Cup – the smallest nation ever to reach the final.

McClaren, 64, was derided as ‘posh Wally’ after failing to take England to Euro 2008 in the Wembley rain at the hands of Croatia.

And now he has quit his job in the Caribbean after Jamaica failed to draw 0-0 with Curacao. Instead, the Reggae Boyz will have to fight for a place in next summer’s play-off tournament.

McClaren confirmed his departure at the post-match press conference, telling reporters: ‘I’ve given everything I’ve got to this job over the last 18 months. Leading this team has been one of the greatest honors of my career.

However, football is about results and tonight we could not achieve our goal of getting out of this group.

‘It is the leader’s responsibility to step forward, take responsibility and make decisions that are in the best interests of the team.

‘After reflection and honest assessment of where we are and where we need to go, I have decided to step down as head coach of the Jamaican national team.’

He added: ‘Sometimes the best thing a leader can do is recognize that a new voice, new energy and a different perspective is needed to move this team forward.’

There was joy in Curacao, which went to the World Cup for the first time

According to Dean Gorre, assistant coach of the small country, replacing Dick Advocaat brought McClaren to tears. ‘Steve was crying,’ he said. ‘This affected him greatly.

McClaren only took over as Jamaica’s manager in the summer of 2024 after leaving Manchester United, where he was assistant to Erik ten Hag.

With three Concacaf giants (USA, Mexico and Canada) already qualifying for next year’s tournament as host nations, it was seen as a golden opportunity for Jamaica to secure their place in only their second World Cup.

But even a rousing pre-match speech from the island’s most famous son, the fastest man of all time, Usain Bolt, could not stop McClaren’s side from being held to a goalless draw in Kingston.

Instead, the night belonged to Curacao. They became the smallest country in terms of population to qualify for the World Cup, and CONCACAF sides Panama and Haiti also booked their places.

Curacao finished the tournament as the only undefeated country, topping Group B with 12 points to advance to the World Cup for the first time in its history.

It was even more embarrassing for McClaren when Curacao rival Advocaat achieved a historic result despite not being on the bench. Advocaat, 78, missed the critical match last weekend because he had to return to the Netherlands for family reasons.

Advocaat managed the Dutch national team for three terms and coached South Korea, Belgium and Russia before transferring to Curacao.

According to the Curacao Central Bureau of Statistics, the country’s population was 156,115 people as of last January. With a population of just over 350,000, Iceland was the smallest country to reach the World Cup when it qualified for the tournament in Russia in 2018.

Panama advanced to their second World Cup by defeating El Salvador 3-0 with first-half goals from César Blackman and Erick Davis. Jose Luis Rodriguez added a goal for the Panamanians, whose only World Cup match was Russia 2018.