Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz have been eliminated from the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup after suffering a crushing 4-1 defeat to Panama in their final Group C match at the Q2 Stadium on Tuesday night.
Needing a win to keep their hopes alive for a spot in the quarter-finals, the Jamaicans instead endured one of their most disappointing Gold Cup performances in recent memory — failing to advance to the knockout stage for the first time in 16 years.
The night belonged to Panama’s Ismael Díaz, who tore through Jamaica’s defense with a hat-trick, starting as early as the 4th minute. Díaz opened the scoring with a left-footed strike from outside the box after a failed clearance on a corner kick. He doubled the lead in the 17th minute, this time finishing clinically from the left side of the box.
Jamaica showed brief signs of life when Amari’i Bell pulled one back in the 27th minute, heading home a cross from Dexter Lembikisa to make it 2-1. But the momentum shift was short-lived. Díaz completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 45th minute, sending a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner and restoring Panama’s two-goal cushion.
Tomás Rodríguez sealed the result for Los Canaleros in the 89th minute, finishing a fast break with a right-footed strike to put the match out of reach and the group stage beyond Jamaica’s grasp.
With the win, Panama finishes the group stage with a flawless 3-0-0 record and advances to the quarter-finals as the top team in Group C. They await the second-place finisher from Group B in the next round.
Jamaica, meanwhile, exits the tournament with a 1-0-2 record and three points — finishing third in the group. Guatemala, who edged Guadeloupe 3-2 in the night’s other Group C fixture, claimed the second qualifying spot with six points.
