Jamaica surprised the favorite France and managed a heroic draw by 0-0, this Sunday (23), in the debut of the two teams in the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The duel took place in Sydney, Australia, and was worth the first round of Group F, the same as Brazil.
On the one hand, the unexpected result paves the way for the Brazilian team to start with an advantage in the direct dispute with the French for the first place in the classification. On the other hand, it shows the Caribbean women in a position to play a tough game against coach Pia Sundhage’s team and tangle the fight in a group that seemed quite unbalanced in favor of the two main candidates.
Brazil debuts this Monday (24th), in Adelaide, also in Australia, against the debutante selection of Panama. The game is scheduled for 8 am (Brasília time) and will be broadcast by Globo, SporTV, Cazé TV, ge, globoplay and Fifa+.
One of the favorites for the title (5th in the FIFA ranking), France largely dominated the match against Jamaica (43rd) and even hit the post in the final moments.
According to official statistics, the Bleues had 46% of the ball possession, against 20% of the Reggae Girlz – the other 34% were considered up for grabs. Coach Hervé Renard’s team also had 13 shots (5 on target), more than twice as many as their opponents (6 shots, 2 on target).
Faced with pressure, especially in the second half, the Jamaicans showed a lot of strength in marking. And they still had luck, as in the move in which the French striker Diani headed the crossbar, already in the 44th minute of the second half.
Trying to hold on in every way, Jamaica still had one less player on the field after the expulsion of striker Khadija Shaw, in the 46th minute of the additional stage, for the second yellow card.
This was the first point conquered by the selection of Jamaica in World Cups, in what is the second participation of the team in World Cups. The result was widely celebrated by the Caribbean on the pitch after the final whistle, especially after the man of the match award was announced for defender Deneisha Blackwood.
In the next round, France will try to recover the loss against Brazil. The French were the executioners of the selection in the round of 16 of the last edition of the Women’s Cup (2019), with a 2-1 victory in extra time.
The two favorites of the group will face each other next Saturday (29), at 7 am (Brasília time). Jamaica, in turn, will measure forces with Panama, on the same day, at 9:30 am.
