Author: Soorya G
The Brazilians were eliminated from the group stage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup after a 0-0 draw with surprise package Jamaica. The Jamaican women showed immense grit to hold on to a goalless draw in a thrilling game until the final whistle. In doing so, Jamaica produced one of the tournament’s biggest surprises and, more importantly for them, secured qualification for the knockout rounds of the coveted competition for the first time in their history.
The Brazilians undoubtedly dominated the game throughout the ninety minutes, but they were unable to score, either because of the incredible firmness of the Jamaican defense or because of bad luck. The Seleção had several chances to open the scoring, but failed to take any of them. To put this into context, Brazil had 68% possession of the ball in the game and had 17 shots on the Jamaican net, compared to the Reggae Girls’ four shots. Tottenham midfielder Drew Spence was brilliant as she fulfilled her defensive duties wonderfully, thwarting the Brazilian attack on more than one occasion.
An emotional rollercoaster. 🎢
The @SelecaoFeminina fans went through it all at the #FIFAFanFestival. 🇧🇷#BeyondGreatness | #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/8CLVM5MA04
– FIFA Women’s World Cup (@FIFAWWC) August 3, 2023
After a goalless first half, every minute that passed seemed to drive the Brazilians to exponentially greater desperation, as they continued to press in search of the goal that would qualify them for the next round. They came very close at times, with Debinha and Andressa Alves wasting their chances. Jamaican midfielder Allyson Swaby almost did the Seleção a big favor by scoring an own goal, but the Reggae Girls narrowly escaped.
Jamaica also had the opportunity to settle matters themselves when captain Khadija Shaw had a great chance to score, but shot wide. However, Lorne Donaldson’s team won’t be worrying about the missed chance just yet, but will be celebrating qualification for the World Cup. Brazil, on the other hand, will be disheartened to return home after an unsatisfactory campaign.
Third round results
Group A
Norway-Philippines 6-0, Switzerland-New Zealand 0-0
Group B
Canada-Australia 0-4, Ireland-Nigeria 0-0
Group C
Costa Rica-Zambia 1-3, Japan-Spain 4-0
Group D
China-England 1-6, Haiti-Denmark 0-2
Group E
Portugal-USA 0-0, Vietnam-Netherlands 0-7
Group G
Argentina-Sweden 0-2, South Africa-Italy 3-2
Group F
Jamaica-BRAZIL 0-0, Panama-France 3-6
Group H
Morocco-Colombia 1-0, South Korea-Germany 1-1
1/8 finals
Switzerland – Spain
Netherlands – South Africa
Japan – Norway
Sweden – USA
Australia – Denmark
France – Morocco
England – Nigeria
Colombia – Jamaica