Two home games in five days gave Reggae Boyz supporters both ends of the experience. Jamaica opened their 2026-27 Concacaf Nations League campaign with a stoppage-time 3-2 win over Guatemala on Friday, 25 September, then lost 1-0 to Honduras on Tuesday, 29 September. Both matches were played at the National Stadium in Kingston.
Three points from six leaves coach Rudolph Speid's side in contention in League A, Group B, but with less margin for error than they would have wanted from two games on home soil.
Jamaica 3-2 Guatemala: Cephas at the death
The opener started badly. Guatemala scored inside two minutes when Óscar Santis finished low after a counter-attack, and Darwin Lom went close to a second in the 18th minute.
Jamaica found their way back late in the first half. Kasey Palmer pounced on an error by Jorge Aparicio and slid a low shot under goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro to level. Palmer then turned provider in the 53rd minute, playing in Rumarn Burrell, who beat the goalkeeper to the far corner to put Jamaica 2-1 ahead.
The lead lasted 14 minutes. Santis rounded Andre Blake and rolled the ball into an empty net for his second of the night, and the game tilted again. Substitute Renaldo Cephas shot wide in the 79th minute, and Guatemala's Olger Escobar struck the inside of the post in the 90th.
Then, four minutes into stoppage time, Cephas got another chance and took it, giving Jamaica a 3-2 win they had led, lost and reclaimed.
Jamaica started with captain Andre Blake in goal, along with Joel Latibeaudiere, Damion Lowe, Richard King, Isaac Hayden, Karoy Anderson, Palmer, Ronaldo Webster, Tyreece Campbell, Burrell and Javon East.
Jamaica 0-1 Honduras: an early goal and a long night
Speid had warned beforehand that Honduras would be the harder test. They had lost 3-2 to Suriname in their own opener and arrived needing a result.
Jamaica's night began to unravel almost immediately. Cephas, promoted to the starting line-up after his winner, went off injured in the eighth minute and was replaced by Campbell. Six minutes later Keyrol Figueroa scored from close range from a Jonathan Toro assist, and that proved to be the only goal.
The game grew scrappy. Latibeaudiere and Bailey Cadamarteri were booked before half-time. Speid made a double change just past the hour, sending on Courtney Clarke and East for Hayden and Palmer.
The opening Jamaica needed came in the 68th minute, when Honduras's Dereck Moncada was shown a red card. With more than 20 minutes to play against ten men, the Boyz had the ball and the territory but could not find a way through a compact Honduran defence. Dwayne Atkinson picked up a late yellow card as frustration grew.
The defeat ended a long run. Jamaica had been unbeaten in eight matches against Honduras, whose last win in the fixture came 13 years ago. The teams' previous meeting in Kingston, in the 2024 Nations League, ended 0-0.
What the two games showed
- The attack has goals in it. Three scorers in the opener, and Palmer directly involved in two of the goals.
- Slow starts are costly. Jamaica conceded in the second minute against Guatemala and the 14th against Honduras. Across the two games they were behind for long stretches.
- Breaking down a deep defence is still a problem. Twenty-plus minutes against ten men produced no equaliser.
- Cephas's fitness matters. The match-winner on Friday lasted eight minutes on Tuesday. The extent of the injury had not been confirmed at the time of writing.
What comes next
The top two teams in the group advance to the quarter-finals, where Mexico, the United States, Canada or Panama will be waiting. Jamaica and Honduras each have three points after two matches, so the Boyz's remaining group games now carry real weight.
The squad Speid named for this window also included Leon Bailey among his 24 players. Getting a full-strength attack on the pitch, and starting games on the front foot, will be the priorities when the group resumes.