Trinidad and Tobago will not now advance to the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup, despite a spirited 1-1 draw with Jamaica last night at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Kevin Molino gave brief hope to the home team and their fans with a close-up finish to level the scores after Reynaldo Cephas had given Jamaica a lead, much against the run of play early in the second half.
Last night's result means third-placed T&T can only reach a maximum nine points, with a win over Bermuda on Tuesday. Jamaica already have ten points and Curacao lead Group B of CONCACAF Final Round qualifying with 11 after their 7-0 drubbing of Bermuda last night. Those two teams will meet on Tuesday to decide the automatic qualifiers.
T&T's slim hopes of automatically reaching a second World Cup rested on a Bermuda upset of Curacao, and their beating Jamaica at home.
At half-time, the stars never aligned. Curacao were already 2-0 up away to Bermuda, and when Jamaica scored early in the second half, the dream looked to have ended.
But T&T did not go out with a whimper, but gave a really strong performance. The ball just didn't roll their way.
The home team provided the first dangerous moment when Levi Garcia was sprung up the flank by Andre Rampersad before running the ball out in the fourth minute.
Derron Payne also provided a dangerous flanking run from right-back soon after. But again there was no end product.
It took almost 20 minutes for Jamaica to have a first shot, but it was routine work for goalie Denzil Smith.
Reggae Boyz' hearts must have skipped a beat after Garcia cut inside his marker, shot across goalie Andre Blake and saw the ball trickle wide of the far corner in the 26th minute.
Tyrese Spicer got the biggest opening, his shot forcing a strong Blake save to stop a certain goal in the 35th minute.
For the first in many years T&T were the rough team, the Jamaicans feeling the bite several times. Such was the pressure on them, that the Jamaicans resorted to playing long-ball football in a goalless half.
Except for a couple corners, Jamaica had little to offer in the first period. However, it was from one of those set pieces that Jonathan Russell flicked past Smith in the 40th minute, before a VAR check ruled out the goal.
All that the home team lacked in a powerful first half was a goal. It was much of the same on the resumption.
Spicer provided Levi Garcia an opening in the early moments of the second half. Taking the long punt first time, the Spartak Moscow striker volleyed over the bar.
Then against the run of play, Jamaica caught T&T thin at the back, the speedy Reynaldo Cephas skipping inside Andre Raymond and finding the far corner with a low shot in the 54th minute.
The home team did not give in, though. Defender Justin Garcia put a bullet header on Payne's inswinging cross, but found the side netting, and Levi Garcia, who had Spicer free to the left, forced a shot and instead found team-mate Molino in the way.
Molino would eventually pull his side level with a low shot late on, but it just was not enough in the end. Another campaign had ended in disappointment, though not without a mighty fight.