#10 Jamaica – 1998
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The Reggae Boyz sure did it the hard way while qualifying for the 1998 World Cup Finals held in France. Needing to traverse two knockout rounds before reaching the CONCACAF qualifying round one, Jamaica never looked convincing against minnows Suriname and Barbados in the home and away legged eliminators.
In the next round, Jamaica were drawn alongside powerhouses Mexico and Honduras but managed a final day victory over already-qualified Mexico to edge past Honduras to reach the final stage.
The fact that Mexico had taken their foot off the pedal during their loss to Jamaica was never more apparent than in the final qualification phase when they thrashed the Boyz 6-0 at the Estadio Azteca. Suddenly the Jamaicans found themselves out of their element, with just two points in four games. Enter England-born striker Deon Burton.
Burton would score the deciding goals in the victories over Costa Rica and Canada as well as the equaliser against the United States and El Salvador. When the final round match against Mexico came about, Jamaica once again found themselves in the familiar position of needing a point against Mexico to ensure qualification at the expense of El Salvador.
Jamaica held on to a 0-0 draw and the United States made matters easier by beating El Salvador in the final game for the Boyz to go through.
The World Cup saw Jamaica being placed in a group along with two other debutants Japan and Croatia as well as favourites Argentina. Robbie Earle would score Jamaica’s first goal at the World Cup in a 1-3 reverse at the hands of Croatia in the opener. A Gabriel Batistuta hat-trick ensured that the Jamaicans were beaten 5-0 by Argentina in their next game.
But a consolation prize awaited the Boyz. Theodore Whitmore scored two goals as the Jamaicans produced the most famous victory in their history as Japan were beaten 2-1 in the final group game.
