Lorne Donaldson, Jamaica’s manager, claimed his squad had “never had this much fun” after reaching the Women’s World Cup final 16 for the first time, leaving Brazil distraught.
They battled it out in Melbourne, and Jamaica put up a tenacious defensive performance to ensure their outstanding campaign continues.
The Reggae Girlz, rated 43rd in the world, are unbeaten and have maintained three clean sheets in their second World Cup group stage, having surrendered 12 goals in three defeats in 2019.
“We were not expected to be in the World Cup in 2019,” said Donaldson. “The programme was fairly new and we said, ‘Oh, we’re in!’ It was like being deer in headlights.
“We were very young and happy to be there. This time around we said, ‘Hey, we’re not just going to show up. We’re going to get out of the group.’ Our mentality was that nothing is impossible.”
Brazil, who reinstated striker Marta to the starting lineup, failed to score and so failed to advance for the first time in 28 years.
Marta, 37, is the alltime best scorer in men’s or women’s World Cups with 17 goals, but she will not play again on this level, as her sixth tournament concludes after three group-stage appearances. Following this goalless draw, Jamaica might face Colombia or Germany in the round of 16, while France advances as Group F victors after defeating Panama in the other match.
