For Isaac Hayden, the third coming of Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz was a Godsend. They had knocked on his door twice before asking if he might fancy changing allegiance from England for whom he won caps at every level from Under 16 to Under 21.
The timing had never been quite right. The third time though was like perfection. Hayden had been cast aside at Newcastle, closing in on 30 with a history of serious injuries, training for four months with the Under 23s, rarely playing competitive football, casting for a chance to get his career moving again.
‘Mentally, it was difficult,’ recalls Hayden. ‘Doubts creep in when you haven’t played in a while. I was struggling for motivation.
‘I probably played twice in the National League Cup against non-League sides. I played one at Halifax, there were about 80 people there. Freezing cold, terrible pitch, it was rubbish.’
Then came a call from Steve McClaren, freshly appointed as Jamaica boss. McClaren had once tried to snap up a young Hayden on loan for Derby from Arsenal. It didn’t happen but they had got to know each other and that helped.
Things dropped neatly into place. McClaren urged him to sort out his passport. ‘Give it a go,’ was the message. ‘If it’s not for you it’s not for you… but I’m pretty sure it will be for you.’
Hayden’s father Sol, born in Jamaica, had all the necessary documents to hand.
The situation at Newcastle meant they were happy for him to take a few days off, so he flew to Kingston, processed the paperwork inside 48 hours and returned with a Jamaican passport in the bag. ‘It aligned perfectly,’ he admits.
Steve McClaren left his role at Manchester United to take the Jamaica job in July 2024
Isaac Hayden, playing for England U21s in 2016, is now flying high under McClaren
That was a year ago. He made his debut against the United States and savoured the passion of sport in the Caribbean.
‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ Hayden tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘An hour and 10 minutes to travel a mile from the hotel to the stadium. People leaving cars in the middle of the road. The police coming in to move things. It was chaos. A big game and a wonderful spectacle.’
Hayden discovered he could still play a bit, too, and with his fire rekindled by new ambition he spent the second half of last season on loan at Portsmouth and joined Queen’s Park Rangers permanently in August.
Now he has 10 caps and stands with his Jamaica teammates, many of them based in English football and drawn to represent their ancestral home on twisting narratives like his own, just one result from the World Cup finals.
McClaren’s Reggae Boyz lead their final qualifying group with two games to play. First, a trip to Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday. Then the crunch against Curacao, the closest challengers for top spot.
The winners of the three CONCACAF groups will qualify automatically, and the best two of three runners-up will join four other nations from different confederations to contest two more World Cup places via FIFA’s newfangled play-off tournament to be held in Mexico in March.
Irrespective of what happens in Trinidad, McClaren’s team know they will win the group and qualify for the World Cup for only the second time if they beat Curacao in Kingston on Tuesday.
Amari’i Bell (No 4), Leon Bailey (7) and Bobby De Cordova-Reid (10) celebrate a Jamaica goal
The nation is still reeling from the damage wreaked by Hurricane Melissa last month
And that will go down as a major sporting triumph for Jamaica, an island of 2.8million still reeling from the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Melissa a fortnight ago.
‘Jamaicans on this island and all over the world would be so proud if we can achieve this,’ declared McClaren as he announced his squad this week. ‘Everybody’s goal was World Cup qualification and we’re on the brink.
‘We’ve had our ups and downs. Successes and failures. Highs and lows. And it all boils down to this. Bedding down our principles and what we have been trying to do. What we want and expect from each other. These games are all about attitude, fight and will to win.’
McClaren stepped down from his role as assistant to Erik ten Hag at Manchester United to take charge in July 2024. ‘When you have a top name like Steve taking the job it makes you think they’re taking it seriously,’ says Hayden.
Charlton’s Jamaica international Amari’i Bell credits the former England boss with ‘new ideas and a fresh identity’ and adds: ‘He’s brought belief. We all believe we can achieve something great if we all work together.’
The challenge was clear, and the opportunity made favourable by the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams presenting CONCACAF with six guaranteed places and three of the strongest – the United States, Mexico and Canada – all spared qualification as hosts.
At 64, McClaren brought a wealth of international knowledge. He went to two World Cups and Euro 2004 as assistant to Sven-Goran Eriksson, although his England career will always be remembered for the night 18 years ago this month, when a 3-2 Wembley defeat by Croatia meant he had failed to reach Euro 2008 having succeeded the Swede as manager.
On his staff, there are more England connections, elite coaching acumen and World Cup pedigree. Trevor Sinclair won a dozen caps and played at the World Cup in 2002. Paul Simpson managed England U20s when they won the World Cup win in 2017. Richard Hartis was goalkeeping coach at Manchester United for years.
McClaren stands helpless as England’s Euro 2008 dreams are ended by Croatia at Wembley
The 26-man squad selected for these qualifiers contains 15 from English football and includes for the first time Rico Henry of Brentford, although he has yet to secure his Jamaican citizenship and confirm his change of allegiance.
Ethan Pinnock and Henry make it two in the squad from Brentford. Two play for QPR, Hayden and in-form Rumarn Burrell, who has four goals in his last six Championship games.
Dujuan Richards is the exciting striker, known as ‘Whisper’ who made his full Jamaica debut at 17 in 2023 and was signed by Chelsea soon after turning 18.
Making up an eight-strong London set are three players from Charlton Athletic. Tyreece Campbell, Karoy Anderson and Kaheim Dixon, currently on loan at Crawley.
It would be four were Bell not injured and the extended Jamaican enclave at The Valley also includes Harvey Knibbs and Miles Leaburn, who all joined forces to support the hurricane relief effort and raise awareness.
‘Myself and the other boys we were all growing up in Jamaican households,’ says Bell, who was born in Burton-upon-Trent, raised in Birmingham and qualifies through four grandparents.
He has won 29 caps and captained his country since debut in 2021 and tells Daily Mail Sport: ‘We were not born in Jamaica like some of the players, but we were born into a Jamaica outside Jamaica.
‘The culture is still there, the same. We could feel that when we first went to play because we gelled.’
Chelsea’s 20-year-old striker Dujuan Richards was born in Port Royal, south east Jamaica
Rumarn Burrell is QPR’s top scorer this season, with five goals in the Championship
Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock, 32, made his Jamaica debut in 2001 and has won 24 caps
Demarai Gray of Birmingham, a winger who won 26 England U21 caps and was once called into the senior squad by Gareth Southgate, and former Everton defender Mason Holgate, now 29 and playing for Al-Gharafa in Qatar, are other familiar names in the squad.
Leon Bailey, Jamaica’s superstar who is on loan at Roma from Aston Villa, is injured. Michail Antonio, who played at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the summer, is without a club since leaving West Ham and not included.
Despite their heritage, those raised in the luxury of the Premier League academies find a culture shock when they travel to play in the Caribbean, and it starts with facilities.
Hayden rates the artificial surface they played on in Curacao as the worst he’d ever seen. ‘Like a carpet rolled out, soft and spongey,’ he said. ‘So strange.’
Then there’s the tropical heat and long-haul travel, usually indirect to Jamaica. WhatsApp groups spring to life as fixtures approach with players finding out who is going via which route. Is it Miami, Dallas or Atlanta?
After playing in Jamaica, the USA had a private plane laid on by Italian clubs waiting to take players back to Europe. Most of the Jamaicans were plotting a matrix of three different flights home. ‘You’ve got to be open minded,’ said Hayden. ‘I wouldn’t change it for the world. It builds a camaraderie.’
It’s one of the reasons McClaren will offset this with some America-based players.
Shamar Nicholson is a 28-year-old forward who plays for Tijuana in Mexico. Nicholson has 21 goals in 61 international appearances. ‘The best in the Caribbean,’ according to McClaren. ‘Our talisman.’
Shamar Nicholson’s 21 goals for Jamaica is bettered only by Luton Shelton, who scored 35
Warner Brown, a 23-year-old striker for Mount Pleasant with four goals in nine games for his country and one of only three in this squad playing in Jamaican football.
Earlier this season, McClaren invited Rene Simoes, the 72-year-old Brazilian coach who led Jamaica to France 98 with a squad featuring English-born ex-pats such as Robbie Earle, Frank Sinclair and Deon Burton, in to address his players and reinforce the aim.
Standing in his way are old friends and foes. Trinidad and Tobago are managed by Dwight Yorke, one of the Treble winners coached by McClaren at Manchester United.
McClaren will take on familiar faces: Curacao’s Dick Advocaat and Trinidad boss Dwight Yorke
Curacao feature Sheffield United’s Tahith Chong who came through the youth ranks at Old Trafford, and are under the command of Dick Advocaat, veteran of 28 jobs in a 45-year managerial career featuring three spells in charge of the Netherlands.
Curacao is the eighth different country he has managed and if he leads them to the World Cup it will rank among his most remarkable achievements.
The Jamaicans, however, are confident it will not be at their expense as they make plans for the big games.
‘We’ll be there in our Jamaica jerseys, spurring them on from afar,’ says Bell, who will watch in the company of Charlton teammate Knibbs.
‘Playing for Jamaica is a dream and to reach a World Cup would be an amazing piece of history. We are confident. We believe we can win. The supporters will come in good voice. The vibes are going to be really something.’
