Six games win-less for Yorke, as T&T lose 2-0 to Jamaica—following VAR interventions

Trinidad and Tobago’s 2026 World Cup qualifying fate no longer lies in their own hands.

A 2-0 defeat away to Jamaica tonight means that even if the Soca Warriors win their remaining four qualifiers, they will not finish top of their group unless the Reggae Boyz drop points in at least two games, inclusive of at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain.

At the final whistle, the Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team had tallied more shots (13 to 10), more passes (367 to 293), more possession (55 to 45%), and, remarkably, put the ball in the back of the net more often than Jamaica too.

Levi Garcia, the stand-in captain due to the suspension of veteran captain Kevin Molino, beat Jamaica goalkeeper Jahmali White on three occasions in Kingston. Each time, the final decision was offside—not goal.

And, although Trinidad and Tobago coach Dwight Yorke argued with Guatemalan fourth official Sergio Reyna for more stoppage time, Jamaica were cruising by the closing minutes of the match.

Jamaica coach Steve McClaren closed the first match window of the Concacaf third World Cup qualifying round with a maximum of six points from two outings with six goals scored and none conceded.

Curaçao, who needed a late winner to edge Bermuda 3-2 at home, have four points and are group runners-up.

Trinidad and Tobago have one point thus far, and it came at home to boot.

And Yorke is now on a run of six straight matches without a win. It is 260 minutes since the Warriors’ last goal, which was a cracking effort by Dante Sealy against Saudi Arabia during a 1-1 Gold Cup tie in Paradise, Nevada.

It goes without saying that the Trinidad and Tobago football outfit are a long way from Paradise at the moment.

Once more, there was more than a whiff of a lack of professionalism around the team.

I95.5FM broadcaster Andre Baptiste blamed the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for the team’s long wait for transportation at the Kingston airport over the weekend. But the responsibility for such logistics lie solely with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation.

Tonight, Yorke twice had just 10 players on the field as Dante Sealy and then Noah Powder were ordered to the sidelines for a wardrobe change—after starting the game with the wrong colour tights.

Fifa Law 4: Undershorts/ tights must be the same colour as the main colour of the shorts or the lowest part of the shorts—players of the same team must wear the same colour.

It was an embarrassing oversight, although Trinidad and Tobago were not punished on either occasion.

Arguably, the worst bit about tonight’s defeat for the Soca Warriors is that McClaren’s Jamaica team are, quite frankly, ordinary.

True, McClaren was without at least six of his regular first-team players, including attackers Leon Bailey and Demarai Gray. Such individual talent would always be missed.

But Jamaica’s lack of fluency in possession along with their willingness to give Trinidad and Tobago space on the ball meant they never looked capable of overwhelming their visitors.

The host dominated the first 20 minutes of the match, but it was fairly even after that.

Trinidad and Tobago, though, looked pretty ordinary too—reliant more on individual wizardry by their front three players rather than any collective, sophisticated build-up play.

It meant for a tetchy, tedious affair in Kingston.

In the 28^th minute, Garcia went over after backing into opposing captain Damion Lowe and appealed for a penalty decision. Garcia’s physical approach and generous use of his arms have not charmed officials of late and Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar waved play on.

It was perhaps the wrong time, then, for Jamaica flanker Renaldo Cephas to request a soft decision, just seconds later.

Again, Escobar signalled for the game to continue and Sealy played to Steffen Yeates in a pocket of space, with the Canada-based midfielder threading a precise pass into Garcia’s run.

And Garcia faked an attempt with his right boot and swivelled back to his left, dumping Jamaican warden Richard King on his backside in the process, before finishing expertly into the far corner.

Goal! Right?

VAR Diego Ojer wanted a second look. And, after a long deliberation, Ojer ruled that Garcia strayed fractionally offside before Yeates’ pass.

In the 33^rd minute, Yeates, warming to his chance in the starting team in Molino’s absence, released Tyrese Spicer on the break—only for the mercurial flanker to drive his shot high and wide of the near post.

And Yorke would have rued the missed opportunities when the Boyz went ahead in the 36^th minute.

Jamaica left back Gregory Leigh powerfully headed the ball into the Trinidad and Tobago penalty box after opposing right back Rio Cardines tried to clear his lines with a long throw.

Trinidad and Tobago defender Josiah Trimmingham, as the last player back, ought to have spotted the potential danger as Jamaica forward Bailey Cadamarteri gave chase.

However, like a public servant sauntering back from lunch, Trimmingham left it for someone else to answer—and, by the time Kobi Henry realised that he would have to pick up, Cadamarteri had the jump on them both.

A swivel of the hips and a low blast later, and Cadamarteri—the 20-year-old Leeds-born son of former Everton forward Danny Cadamarteri—had his first senior international goal, on his second cap with Jamaica and his debut at The Office in Kingston.

Trinidad and Tobago did not wilt. Wayne Frederick II was inches away from an equaliser with a crisp low drive from the edge of the area, seconds after the restart.

And the sight of Lowe, son of giant ex-Jamaica forward Onandi Lowe, begging the referee for protection from Garcia’s robust hold-up play should have further encouraged the visitors.

The Warriors even enjoyed a favourable VAR call in the 54^th minute, as Henry was ruled to have had his hand in a natural position when it made contact with the ball in his own penalty area from a Dexter Lambikisa cross.

But, three minutes later, Jamaica were again the beneficiaries of football’s controversial technology.

Henry, in trying to nod an aerial ball away from Cadamarteri, only played into the path of midfielder Jonathan Russell, who was all alone in the penalty area. Had it been a deflection, Russell would have been offside. But VAR found, quite rightly, that it was a deliberate backpass—and Jamaica had a second goal.

At the other end, the persistent Garcia put the ball away again in the 63^rd minute.

Lowe made a casual turnover on top of his own box and Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Andre Rampersad relayed possession to Yeates who again slipped to Garcia.

But the sight of Rampersad begging assistant referee Luis Ventura not to raise his flag was a clue that something was amiss. And, sure enough, a VAR check discovered that Garcia was again offside.

Ventura did not need VAR support in the 71^st minute, when Garcia completed a dubious hattrick of offside ‘goals’ after following-up on a Nathaniel James effort, which was parried unconvincingly by Waite.

Yorke, who replaced Sealy and Yeates with Ryan Telfer and James in the 64^th minute, turned to Kaïlé Auvray, Justin Obikwu and Jerrin Jackie in the 73^rd minute as Spicer, Garcia and Frederick gave way.

All three late introductions were largely underwhelming—and, all five substitutions were like for like, as Trinidad and Tobago finished in the same shape they started the game.

Yorke might argue, as he did after the Curaçao game, that Trinidad and Tobago were doing fairly well in that formation. And he would have a point.

But, on the flipside… Well, it is six games now without a win.

As for the sight of Jackie, a central defender in Portugal’s amateur division, trying to impersonate an international central midfielder?

Well, Yorke had run out of options by then, having selected just six midfielders for this match window—with two suspended and another, Powder, filling in at left back.

Yet, it is not hard to picture discarded midfielders like Michel Poon-Angeron, Duane Muckette, Molik Khan, Dantaye Gilbert or Joevin Jones unplugging their television sets or switching off their laptops in disgust.

Next month, Yorke will lead the Warriors into two away games against Bermuda and Curaçao respectively before they return home to host Jamaica in Port of Spain on Thursday 13 November.

Only wins will do from here on. Yorke would be well advised to locate his thinking cap. His monogrammed choice of headgear has not brought him much luck in this round so far.

(Teams)

Trinidad and Tobago (4-2-1-3): 22.Denzil Smith (GK); 19.Rio Cardines, 3.Kobi Henry, 5.Josiah Trimmingham, 23.Noah Powder; 14.Wayne Frederick II (6.Jerrin Jackie 73), 18.Andre Rampersad (vice-captain); 7.Steffen Yeates (9.Nathaniel James 64), 15.Dante Sealy (12.Ryan Telfer 64), 11.Levi Garcia (captain) (16.Justin Obikwu 73), 13.Tyrese Spicer (20.Kaïlé Auvray 74).

Unused substitutes: 1.Marvin Phillip (GK), 21.Jabari St Hillaire (GK), 2.Darnell Hospedales, 4.Isaiah Garcia, 8.Andre Raymond, 10.Real Gill, 17.Justin Garcia.

Coach: Dwight Yorke.

Jamaica (4-1-2-3): 23.Jahmali Waite (GK); 2.Dexter Lembikisa, 6.Richard King, 17.Damion Lowe (captain), 22.Gregory Leigh; 14.Isaac Hayden; 18.Jonathan Russell (19.Jahshaun Anglin 76), 8.Kasey Palmer (15.Karoy Anderson 52); 7.Tyreece Campbell (10.Kaheim Dixon 52), 12.Bailey Cadamarteri (11.Shamar Nicholson 76), 20.Renaldo Cephas (4.Mason Holgate 79).

Unused substitutes: 1.Tafari Chambers (GK), 13.Shaquan Davis (GK), 3.Kevon Lambert, 5.Jamoi Topey, 9.Michail Antonio, 16.Kyle Duncan, 21.Ronaldo Webster.

Coach: Steve McClaren.

Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)

2026 World Cup qualifiers

Group B

(Thursday 9 September)

Jamaica 2 (Bailey Cadamarteri 36, Jon Russell 57), Trinidad and Tobago 0 at Kingston;

Curaçao 3 (Tahith Chong 14, 26, Tyrese Noslin 75), Bermuda 2 (Kane Crichlow 35, Djair Parfitt-Williams 42) at Willemstad.

(5 September 2025)

Trinidad and Tobago 0, Curaçao 0 at Hasely Crawford Stadium;

Bermuda 0, Jamaica 4 (Damion Lowe 6, Renaldo Cephas 26, Kasey Palmer 58, Shamar Nicholson 90) at Bermuda National Stadium.

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