Reggae Girlz coach Lorne Donaldson believes the team has the potential to eventually emulate the feats of the likes of Canada but insists they are still at the building stage.

The Jamaicans were thwarted in their bid to advance to the finals of the Concacaf Women’s Championship following a 3-0 defeat at the hands of defending Olympic champions Canada.

Despite not being at full strength the Caribbean team held its own for long periods of the encounter but was undone by several individual errors.

“We just played the Olympic champions.  The last time I checked they were still the Olympic champions, so they are a very good team.  I think we are taking a lot away from Canada.  We are just a growing team, we are learning, we have been together for 3 weeks and that’s it,” Donaldson said.

“We gave it everything and we just got beat,” he added.

“…We’re just trying to get on with and build something.  So, Canada is an established program.  Maybe one day not too far away we can be like Canada, I think we have the potential to be but we are just trying to build.”

Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Canada in the semi-final of the Concacaf Women’s Championship but rested talismanic striker Khadijah Shaw.

With both teams having already secured a spot at next year’s final both teams turned their attention to securing a spot at the 2024 Olympics.

After an even opening period, Canada took the lead in the 18^th minute when Jessie Fleming header home Canada’s first of the night.

Ashley Lawrence had crossed the ball into the area, and Jamaica defender Allyson Swaby ended up deflecting the cross into the path of Fleming.

Adriana Leon and Allysha Chapman entered the game in the 53rd minute and immediately made an impact. In the 64^th, with an assist from Leon off a cross, Chapman scored the second goal of the night with a powerful header, after being loosely marked at the back post.

In the 76th, Leon then scored the third and final goal for Canada off a flicked-on header from Jordyn Huitema, who was also subbed on in the 53^rd.

The result means Canada moves on to face the United States in the final, while Jamaica faces Costa Rica in the third-place playoff.

Jamaica Reggae Girlz coach Lorne Donaldson remains guarded regarding future plans for the national team as his agreement with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) will only be in place until the end of the Concacaf Women’s Championship.

Donaldson was given the position in June following a messy split between the team and its former head coach Vin Blaine who stepped down from the post after just a few months in charge.  He has, however, previously been a part of the national program as a former assistant coach, the last time the Reggae Girlz qualified, under then-coach Hubert Busby.

The coach has, however, confirmed that he will be heading back to the negotiation table following the conclusion of the tournament.

“I can’t talk about future plans, whatever I have contractually just leads up to this tournament,” Donaldson told members of the media on Wednesday.

“Hopefully we can keep the same coaching staff and move on.  Currently, we have some good people in place taking care of our players…going forward we have to sit down with the JFF and Cedella Marley, who has been tremendous in our making, and go forward with what we doing,” he added.

The Jamaicans will play Canada on Thursday in the semifinals of the Concacaf Women’s Championship.

Jamaica Reggae Girlz forward Kayla McCoy insists the team remains hungry for success despite achieving the historic feat of qualifying for back-to-back FIFA Women’s World Cups.

Having already secured a spot in next year's premier global football showpiece the Jamaican team could be forgiven for getting caught in celebration mode, ahead of Thursday’s Concacaf W Championship semi-finals against Canada.

According to the player, however, the team remains sharp and focused as the match-up against the Olympic champions will present a unique opportunity.

“Although it's very exciting that we qualified again, as a group we knew that we could and fully expected to do so,” McCoy told members of the media on Thursday.

“We’ve qualified but we know the job isn’t done yet and there’s still more to go, so, going into the game against Canada we are going to be firing on all cylinders.  We are still hungry.  We’ve qualified once and now we’ve qualified again but now we want to take it further and show what we can do,” she added.

So far, the Jamaicans have not had a happy time against the Canadians.  The team has lost both times they have faced the North American heavyweights, with the most recent of those meetings ending in a 9-0 defeat.

Jamaica national women’s football team head coach, Lorne Donaldson, believes the country is merely scratching the surface of what is possible for its football program.

On Monday, Donaldson led from the sidelines as the Reggae Girlz secured a spot at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, following a 4-0 over Haiti. 

Three years earlier as an assistant coach, he had also celebrated as the team played their way to the tournament in France.  By virtue of defeating Haiti, the Reggae Girlz continued to break new ground and became the first Caribbean team to make back-to-back or even multiple World Cups.

Based on his assessment of the talent available to the Jamaican squads, which has been boosted by the recent recruitment of players from the diaspora, Donaldson is confident there is a lot more that Jamaican teams can accomplish.  In order to do so, he believes changes must be made to the structure of the football programs.

“Overall, I think the football structure has to change.  I won’t even say needs to change, it has to change going forward, not just for the women but for the men,” Donaldson said.

“We have this quality, for both men and women, and we can do more.  We haven’t even scratched the surface with our football talent,” he added.

Jamaica Reggae Girlz head coach Lorne Donaldson is hopeful that the team will be able to build on the momentum gained from qualifying for a second straight Women’s World Cup.

In an exciting group A finale, of the Concacaf Women’s Championship, the Jamaicans ran out to a 4-0 win over Caribbean neighbours Haiti on Monday, securing second spot in the group and with it a place at next year’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

Three years ago, the Reggae Girls because the first Caribbean team to qualify for the event after a penalty shootout win over Panama.  The coach, however, does not believe enough was done to capitalise on Jamaica’s appearance at the 2019 edition of the tournament in France.

“Hopefully, we can use this qualification as a federation and turn our football around in a positive way. The last time we qualified, we just qualified, but this time I think a lot good is going to come out of this,” Donaldson said, following the final whistle.

“The biggest thing I see is an influx of young players getting involved from Jamaica and all over the world, all Jamaicans.  I think we can ride this wave because we are a little more organised on the outside with Cedella Marley and the foundation and hopefully our federation can join in,” he added.

The coach also hopes a second tournament appearance will lead to more wholesale adoption of women’s football by the country’s fanbase.

“Most of all I hope Jamaica can join in this time and embrace women’s football like they should.  I think some people are still skeptics but we welcome them with open arms.”

President of the Jamaica Olympic Association, Christopher Samuda, issued a statement congratulating the Reggae Girlz on their qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Tuesday.

The Girlz defeated Haiti 4-0 in Mexico on Monday to secure their second consecutive World Cup berth.

“With victory over Haiti, the journey now begins for our Reggae Girlz and as we did on the previous occasion the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) will be on the voyage, down under, with the team of our member association the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF),” Samuda said in the statement.

“History has repeated itself and the JOA commends the Girlz for writing, yet again, another admirable chapter in what we know will be a bestseller in football. Well done Girlz. The fraternity of sport applauds you and the Olympic Movement thanks you for giving our youth, particularly our young girls, invaluable lessons in courage, determination and inspiration,” he added.

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) issued a statement on Tuesday congratulating the Reggae Girlz on their qualification to a second consecutive World Cup.

The Girlz secured their spot in Australia and New Zealand next year with a 4-0 win over Haiti in Mexico on Monday.

“The Jamaica Football Federation wholeheartedly congratulates the Senior Women’s National Team, the Reggae Girlz, for their qualification to successive FIFA Women’s World Cups,” the Federation said to start the statement.

The statement continues: “Their creation of history, once again, has been due their unquestionable strength of purpose, character, determination, unity and patriotism. We commend and lift them up to Jamaica as living example of what is possible even when tremendous challenges abound. The JFF thanks and congratulates the entire technical staff, led by Head Coach Lorne Donaldson who had the team together less than three weeks before the start of the tournament. Finally, none of this would have been possible without our partners, the Bob Marley Foundation, the Reggae Girlz Foundation, the Ministry of Sports and all the well-wishers and supporters. We wish the team further success in their remaining games beginning with the semi-final fixture against Canada on Thursday, 14th.”

Reggae Girlz striker and captain Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw says leading her country to a second straight World Cup “means a lot.”

The Manchester City striker was in fine form in Monday’s game, scoring a brace to help her side to a dominant 4-0 victory over the Haitians to secure a second consecutive World Cup berth.

“It means a lot, especially because throughout the beginning of the campaign we came under a lot of pressure. We just stood together and held our composure,” said Shaw.

“We knew that once we did that, at the end of the day we were going to be victorious and, I think, it just goes to show that we’re a small island, but we can do big things,” Shaw added.

Despite already booking their spot in Australia and New Zealand next year, their CONCACAF Women’s Championship campaign is not over with a semi-final against Canada on Thursday at 9:00pm Jamaica time (10:00pm EST). Defending world champions the USA will tackle Costa Rica in the other semi-final. 

Shaw outlined how the team can overcome the challenge of the unbeaten Canadians.

“We need to remain confident and stay positive. We also have to continue to support each other and communicate. If we continue to stick together and stay confident, I’m sure we can do big things,” Shaw said.

Jamaica punched their ticket to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand in commanding fashion with a 4-0 win over Haiti in their final match of Group A of the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship on Monday night at the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey.

The result means Jamaica have qualified for a second straight Women’s World Cup, making it the second time in history that a Caribbean team have qualified for a Women’s World Cup.

Haiti have finished in third place and will advance to next February’s 10-team 2023 Women’s World Cup Playoff in New Zealand.

The blistering pace at the start made for a back-and-forth affair and Haiti’s Melchie Dumornay almost scored the opener with a dazzling solo run from her own half that ended with her shot ringing off the post.

An opening goal was bound to come and Jamaica were the ones to break the deadlock as some nice work from Khadija Shaw set up Trudi Carter, whose right-footed shot beat Haiti GK Nahomie Ambroise to make it 1-0 to the Reggae Girlz in the 26^th minute.

Haiti went right to work to try to find an equalizer and Roselord Borgella had it all there to get it in the 52' off a Jamaica turnover, but instead swung her shot wide of the post.

Haiti continued to push forward in search of a goal, but it left space behind for the Jamaican attack and Shaw was happy to take advantage of it by firing in a right-footed shot to double the Jamaica lead to 2-0 in the 58'.

Nevertheless, Haiti kept pushing and almost pulled a goal back in the 63’ through a blazing effort from Dumornay in the 63’, only to see Jamaica GK Rebecca Spencer parry the ball onto the post and eventually out of play.

However, the night belonged to Shaw and Jamaica and after a Haiti handball in the area, the Manchester City striker stepped up and fired in her third goal of the CWC from the penalty spot for a 3-0 lead in the 70'.

They then capped off their magical night in the 79' with a well-placed header from Drew Spence off a free-kick to complete the winning 4-0 scoreline, earning their first-ever CWC win against Haiti in three attempts.

Racing Louisville defender Satara Murray will be in the line-up for the Reggae Girlz in their crucial Concacaf Women’s Championship final round fixture against Haiti after being cleared to represent the Caribbean side on Monday by FIFA.

Haiti and Jamaica are currently second and third in Group A and Monday’s match, scheduled to begin at 9:00 pm Jamaica time (10:00 pm EST) at the Estadio BBVA Bancomer will determine who joins the USA as automatic qualifiers to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The 29-year-old Murray, who can play as either a right-back or a centre-back, is expected to replace Denisha Blackwood in the Reggae Girlz line-up who is out due to suspension because of an accumulation of yellow cards.

“I’m relieved, happy and blessed to be involved with the game today and I’m thankful and excited to see what we can do. A weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” said Murray in a pre-match interview.

“I’m excited to be out there with the girls tonight and get the job done. That’s why I came here. I came to this camp to help us qualify for a World Cup and that’s what I want to do. I want to be a part of that,” said the former Liverpool defender.

“Leadership and my physical presence,” were her responses when asked what she hopes to bring to the team.

“I’m hoping those can help us win tonight because Haiti is a physical team and that’s one of my best attributes,” she added.

Reggae Girlz head coach Lorne Donaldson says his team simply wasn’t good enough in their 0-5 hammering by defending World Champions the USA in the Concacaf Women’s Championship on Thursday.

The Americans sprinted out to a 2-0 lead through goals from Sophia Smith in the fifth and eighth minutes before adding three more goals in the second half through Rose Lavelle (59^th), Kristie Mewis (83^rd) and Trinity Rodman (86^th) to complete the 5-0 demolition at the Estadio BBVA Bancomer.

“I didn’t think it’d take 10 minutes. We gave up two goals in six minutes and you’re not going to play the World Champs and expect anything out of the game playing the way we did. We weren’t good,” Donaldson said in a post-match press conference.

“The Americans are the best team in the world. When you play the champions at the top of their game, bad things will happen if you don’t play well and we didn’t,” Donaldson added.

The Reggae Girlz are now third in Group A with three points after two games with their third and final preliminary encounter coming against Haiti on Monday.

The Haitians also have three points and will go into that game with supreme confidence after a convincing 3-0 win over Mexico on Thursday.

The winner of Monday’s match will join the USA as automatic qualifiers to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand while the loser will most likely have to book their spot through an inter-continental playoff.

“I think we’re going to be fine and ready,” Donaldson said.

 Haiti leapfrogged Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz on the back of a five-star performance against Mexico, which saw them down the host 3-0 in the second match of the Group A Concacaf W Championship on Thursday.

This result also means the United States cannot finish lower than second place in the group and has officially qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The match started on a high for Haiti. In the 13^th minute, Mexican defender Stephany Mayor committed a foul in the area and the referee awarded Haiti a penalty. Roselord Borgella calmly scored her first goal for Haiti in this round of the qualifiers.

Haiti kept pushing and in the 29th, Borgella scored what seemed to be the second goal of the match but after a VAR review, was judged to be in an offside position.

The irrepressible Haitians looked a constant threat and got another opportunity to add to the lead in the 65^th minute when GK Emily Alvarado brought down Nérilia Mondésir in the area.  Mondesir stepped up and scored the second goal of the match for her team.

Mexico’s faint comeback hopes received a fatal blow in the 77^th minute when centre half Greta Espinoza received a yellow card but saw it upgraded to a red card after a VAR review.

A minute later, Sherly Jeudy stepped up to score a sensational freekick for Haiti, which flew over the wall and arrowed into the top left corner of the goal.  The win was the first time that the Caribbean side has beaten Mexico in a CWC match and saw them move past Jamaica into second in the group on goal difference.

Mexico will close out group play with a match against the now-qualified USA, while Haiti will tackle Jamaica in a winner take all showdown for the next available spot from Group A.

Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz suffered a setback in the bid to qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup following a 5-0 loss to world champions the United States, in the Concacaf W Championship on Thursday.

The loss was the first for the team in group A, after opening its campaign with a 1-0 over hosts Mexico.  It did not take an industriously starting United States long to get on the score sheet as they broke the deadlock in the 5^th minute courtesy of the boot of Sophia Smith.

The player doubled the lead just three minutes after with a lob over the head of Jamaica goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer, which looked to have been cleared off the line, but was judged to have crossed it.

A dominant performance for the Stars and Stripes continued in the second half when Rose Lavelle fired wide of Spencer after a 14-minute spell of resistance for the Jamaicans.  With the game winding down substitute Paige Bailey-Gayle brought down Margaret Purce and Kristie Mewis scored the resulting penalty in the 84^th minute.  Substitute Trinity Rodman completed the rout with a goal two minutes later.  The win saw the United States stay at the top of the group with 6 points, while Jamaica were second with 3 but with Haiti and Mexico yet to play in the later game.

Jamaica Reggae Girlz head coach, Lorne Donaldson, is hoping for sharper finishing in front of goal against the United States but expects that to continue improving as the team gets more games under its belt.

The Jamaicans kicked off the Concacaf W Championship in impressive fashion with a 1-0 win over hosts Mexico on Monday.  The team, however, in all likelihood could and should have won by a bigger margin having created several clear-cut opportunities throughout the match.

Most notably, Khadijah Shaw scored the all-important goal but also hit the upright in the second half, while attempting to chip Mexican goalkeeper Emily Alvarado.  Forward Jody Brown was also guilty of a bit of profligacy, after being played through clean on goal on three occasions but picking out the keeper with all three attempts. 

With the Reggae Girlz scheduled to tackle the world's number one ranked the United States on Thursday, such opportunities are likely to be few and far between.  Donaldson was quick to point out, however, that attacking coordination and finishing in front of the goal takes time to develop and time is a luxury that the team did not have in its preparation for the tournament.

“The sharpness up front takes time (to develop) and we had no games coming in.  Two weeks of preparation was all we had to get the group together.  Some of the team came in a little unfit so we tried to spend some time getting the fitness up,” Donaldson said.

“So, for that sharpness, hopefully, our instincts will kick in, because the hardest part of the game is to get your finishing touch and we saw that.  So hopefully, we will have a bit more luck and do a better job in that department.”   

The top two teams from each group will advance to the next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.