The second slate of matches of the third round of Concacaf qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 26™ continued on Tuesday in a wild night of action. In Group B, Jamaica marched to their second win in two matches and sit atop the table after defeating Trinidad and Tobago, while Curaçao edged Bermuda to claim their first win of the round.
Meanwhile, in Group C, Honduras climbed into first place with a comprehensive home win against Nicaragua, but stealing the show was Haiti and Costa Rica, who played out a six-goal thriller to share the spoils in San Jose.
How qualifying works
In the third round of Concacaf qualifying, the group winners will qualify for the FIFA World Cup, joining hosts Canada, Mexico, and the USA. Additionally, the best two runners-up will represent Concacaf in the FIFA Play-off Tournament™. In total, the Concacaf region could have up to eight teams at the FIFA World Cup for the first time.
Group B
Jamaica goals: Bailey Cadamarteri (36), Jonathan Russell (57)
Jamaica made it two wins from two matches to start qualifying with a clean sheet victory over Trinidad and Tobago in Kingston.
It was all Jamaica at the start, as they continuously peppered Denzil Smith in the Trinidad and Tobago goal, but no end product could be found in the first half-hour. That changed when a lapse from the Soca Warriors’ defence allowed Bailey Cadamarteri to swoop onto a loose ball and stroke home a right-footed shot for the opener.
The Reggae Boyz then doubled their lead in the second stanza when the ball came off a Trinidad and Tobago player in front of goal, allowing Jonathan Russell to stroke home to cement the win.
Curaçao goals: Tahith Chong (14, 26), Tyrese Noslin (75)
Bermuda goals: Kane Crichlow (35), Djair Parfitt (42)
Tahith Chong bagged a brace and supplied an assist to lead Curaçao to a scintillating victory over Bermuda in Willemstad.
Curaçao stormed out of the gates and they broke the deadlock early when Bermuda failed to clear their lines, with Chong curling home a left-footed effort. The midfielder then struck for a second time in the first half by collecting a pass, cutting to his left and rifling into the net.
Bermuda were on the ropes, but they would answer when Kane Crichlow got behind the Curaçao defence and redirected in a ball from Njai Tucker to peg a goal back. The momentum was now with Bermuda and they took full advantage of it, pulling level through Djair Parfitt, whose shot took a slight deflection off a Curaçao defender and rolled into the goal.
But the night belonged to Chong, as the former Manchester United man crafted the winning goal with a surgical pass to Tyrese Noslin, who finished to win it for the hosts.
Group C
Costa Rica goals: Kenneth Vargas (1), Alonso Martinez (35), Juan Pablo Vargas (90+1)
Haiti goals: Duckens Nazon (55, 58, 85)
Duckens Nazon scored a second half hat-trick to help Haiti earn a draw against Costa Rica on a wild night in San Jose. Not even a minute had ticked off the clock when Costa Rica grabbed the lead, as a giveaway in the Haiti half saw Manfred Ugalde slip a pass into Kenneth Vargas, whose right-footed hit rippled the net. The Ticos were rolling and doubled their lead thanks to an excellent pass from Vargas and a fine finish from Alonso Martinez.
Haiti battled their way back into it, starting when Carlens Arcus was brought down by Joseph Mora in the area, resulting in a penalty. Nazon’s spot kick was initially blocked by Keylor Navas, but the veteran striker turned in the rebound to halve the deficit.
Nazon then produced something spectacular with an overhead kick amid a sea of defenders that brought Les Grenadiers level in the Costa Rican capital. Another special goal gave Haiti a stunning lead, with Louicius Deedson feeding Markhus Lacroix, whose clever back-heel set up Nazon’s third. But Costa Rica picked themselves off the mat and fought back to salvage a draw, with Juan Vargas steering home a cross from Ugalde.
Honduras goals: Romell Quioto (47), Alexy Vega (90+1)
Things were tight and tense in Tegucigalpa for much of an opening stanza that ultimately ended goalless. It took Honduras barely a minute into the second half though to make the breakthrough as talismanic forward Romell Quioto acrobatically volleyed home a Luis Palma cross at the back post to grab his 18th international goal.
Los Catrachos had the better of things thereafter and added a late second as a mix-up in the Nicaragua defence allowed substitute Alexy Vega to sneak in and chip Miguel Rodriguez in the first minute of stoppage time.
The 2-0 win making it 14 Honduras victories from 16 meetings between this pair and sending them two points clear at the top of the Group C standings.
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Photos courtesy of the Jamaican Football Federation
