Reggae Girlz coach Lorne Donaldson insists the team was prepared for a battle of attrition with Costa Rica after several recent close encounters between the teams.

A second-half extra-time goal from Kalyssa van Zanten secured a 1-0 win for Jamaica in a hard-fought encounter against their Central Americans in the third-place playoff.  The win capped off a successful tournament for the Jamaicans who secured third place and with it a chance to qualify for the 2024 Olympics.

Having successfully secured a spot in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Jamaicans will now have the chance to make more history when they face defending champions Canada in a home-and-away play-off next year.  Getting past Costa Rica proved to be a challenge. 

“We knew it was going to be a very tight game.  Every time we play Costa Rica it comes down to the second half or overtime so we figured if we could get some speed on the field late on, we could get something, and Kiki came on and had a good finish,” Donaldson said.

The last 6 matches between the teams have been decided by a 1-0 score line with Costa Rica winning 3 of the matches with one draw.  The coach was also full of praise for the young goal scorer.

“She’s been in a few games she’s a rookie, she’s a young player so she got over excited but this game she was calmer.  When we looked in her eyes when I spoke to her, I told her you to have a goal in your boot and gave her some confidence but she has been growing confident.”