Speid: We have to give our all against DR Congo

2026-03-29 - 00:35

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Reggae Boyz interim head coach Rudolph Speid has called on his troops to give nothing less than “100 per cent” when they take on DR Congo on Tuesday with a trip to the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the line. Speid said Jamaica, who edged New Caledonia 1-0 on Thursday, will have to be at their best when they tackle their African opponents at the Estadio Akron. “They are a good team; they rank much higher than us. They’ve gone through some important teams in African [qualifying], defeating a team like Nigeria to get here, so I think it’s a really good team. There are a lot of similarities to us — physical, fast, and so on. “I expect everybody to be giving 100 per cent, including us, because the prize is just a huge prize at the end of the day. Lots of money waiting for the winner and just a national pride for the country, who goes to the World Cup, so I expect both teams to be giving their 100 per cent and I will give no less,” Speid said. He said Jamaica will have to be more clinical than they were against New Caledonia, where they missed several opportunities. “I thought if we had scored our goals, we’d have been out of sight. But credit [to New Caledonia], they fought for every single pass, possession and they defended the goal with their lives. “I thought this was the type of fight they were going to put up — you don’t come this far by not being good. They have some quality and they played very well as a team,” Speid said. CMC