A Look Back At
THE REGGAE BOYZ WORLD CUP 98
Jamaica made history when they qualified for World Cup Soccer 98 in France. The Reggae Boyz as they are fondly known to the world, was the first English speaking Caribbean nation to qualify for the World Cup soccer finals. They gained thousands of fans and was voted one of the most colorful football teams of the tournament.
The Reggae Boyz fell 3-1 to Croatia in their debut World Cup game at the Stade Felix Bollaert on Sunday. Over 41,00 in attendance saw two second half goals from Robert Prosinecki and Davor Suker, put Croatia out of reach for the less experienced Jamaican team. At the start of the game Croatia immediately attacked but Jamaica quickly settled and had much of the early possession. In the 27th minute Croatian striker Mario Stanic collected a rebound off the crossbar and put it pass Warren Barrett to put the Croatian team ahead. Jamaica came close to scoring on a number of occasions and was rewarded with the equalizer on the 45 minute mark when Ricardo Gardener put in a perfect cross for Robbie Earle to head into the top corner. The first half ended Croatia 1, Jamaica 1.
The second half saw a more determined Croatia team take control of the game and had Jamaica chasing. In the 53rd midfielder Prosinecki lobbed the ball over Jamaica's keeper Warren Barrett to put Croatia back into the lead. Jamaica missed a glorious opportunity to equalize when Deon Burton beat the Croatian goalie with a header that went just wide. Croatia struck again in the 69th minute when unmarked striker Suker received a cross from Prosinecki and hit a shot that deflected pass Barrett to put Croatia up 3-1. Substitute Andy Williams and Walter Boyd were brought in to step up the Jamaican attack, but the more experienced Croatian team maintained their lead to the final whistle.
Teams were Jamaica : Jamaica - 1-Warren Barrett (captain); 5-Ian Goodison, 15-Ricardo Gardener, 19-Frank Sinclair, 6-Fitzroy Simpson, 7-Peter Cargill (20-Darryl Powell 70), 11-Theodore Whitmore, 16-Robbie Earle (9-Andrew Williams 72), 17-Onandi Lowe, 18-Deon Burton, 22-Paul Hall (10-Walter Boyd 82).
Croatia - 1-Drazen Ladic; 14-Zvonimir Soldo, 17-Robert Jarni, 20-Dario Simic, 4-Igor Stimac, 6-Slaven Bilic, 10-Zvonimir Boban, 13-Mario Stanic, 7-Aljosa Asanovic, 8-Robert Prosinecki, 9-Davor Suker.
Referee: Manuel Melo Pereira (Portugal). |
