France played host to the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the Jamaicans worked hard to qualify. In successfully doing so, Jamaica became the first native English speaking country of the Caribbean to qualify for the World Cup. It was on June 14, 1998 in Lens when the club took on Croatia; a match that will never be forgotten, despite the losing result for the Jamaican club. The game that day ended in a final score of three to one in the favor of the team from Europe, however, there was reason to be excited for the Jamaicans, as they scored a goal: their first ever in the World Cup tournament.
There wasn't much to celebrate during the next match for the Jamaican Federation, as the national team was defeated by Argentina by a final match score of five to zero. But leading into their final match of the World Cup in France, the boys didn't let the two defeats get them down in the preparation for a meeting against Japan. The two teams met at the Stade Gerland in Lyon on June 26. Theodore Whitmore got the scoring started for Jamaica in the thirty-ninth minute, and again in the fifty-fourth minute. The match was tight, but the team from the small island nation held on to beat Japan 2-1. They became the smallest nation to win a match in the Fifa World Cup.
The tournament was full of records for Jamaica--including being the smallest nation ever to score in a World Cup match, as well as win.
Jamaica has never regained their 1998 breakthrough, but they still compete hard in the CONCACAF region, against teams like the United States and Mexico for one of three automatic bids to the World Cup tournament. The Jamaican Soccer Federation's president, Captain Horace Burrell, hopes the Reggae Boyz can again qualify for the World Cup in 2018.
