Talismanic Jamaica Reggae Girlz forward Khadijah Shaw insists the team will rely on the experience of being in similar situations ahead of Monday’s must-win CONCACAF W Championship encounter.

Heading into the final match of group A, the Jamaicans find themselves in third spot, behind Haiti on goal difference with both on three points.  Only the top two teams from each group will advance to next year’s tournament, with the third-place team heading to a playoff.

The Reggae Girlz made history by qualifying for the 2019 edition of the tournament.  On that occasion the team also found themselves in a tight situation, needing to beat Panama to secure a spot.  On that occasion, the team prevailed in a dramatic penalty shootout win.

“We’ve been on this journey before.  When we qualified for the World Cup and we beat Panama, we lost to the US, so it’s not new to us it’s just to bounce back,” Shaw said in assessing the situation.

“We know what’s at stake.  So, it’s just to regroup, look at our mistakes, and hopefully not let it happen in the next game,” she added.

 “They’re a physical team that always gets the job done and that’s credit to them.  Going into that game we just have to match that physicality and effort and play our game.  Once we come out doing what we know we can do best I think we can get the job done.”

Reggae Girlz head coach Lorne Donaldson believes the team will have to play its best game against Haiti if it is to secure one of the automatic spots to the FIFA women’s World Cup from the Concacaf W Championship.

Locked on three points each after two games, the Caribbean teams are set for a winner-take-all showdown on Monday, which will see the victor secure a spot at the global football showpiece event next year.

The stakes of the game will be even higher for the Reggae Girlz who must win to advance as they will head into the encounter trailing but goal difference.  By most metrics, the Haitian team has had a more impressive tournament to date.
The team began with a strong showing against the United States, who defeated them 3-0, a score that based on the run of play slightly flattered the Americans.  The USA went on to defeat the Jamaicans 5-0.  In their second match, the Haitians went on to devastate hosts Mexico 3-0.  The Jamaicans had only defeated the Mexicans 1-0, albeit missing several other presentable opportunities to score.  The Haitians unit has so shown a high level of fitness, skill, and extraordinary organization. It is a challenge Donaldson believes the team can meet.

“Coming into the tournament I always said Haiti would have a big part to play in this tournament.  They have been to the last U-17 championship, and they have been to the last U-20 championship.  So, people don’t understand the type of players Haiti has, they all play in France,” Donaldson said.

 “Their fitness is what most impresses me, their discipline, they have been playing together as a group for a long time.  They are well organized.  We have to go in now and try to execute.  We have to play one of our best games and we have to play football to win,” he added.

“If coming into the tournament, myself, the players if you had offered us this situation to be in, we would have taken it.”

The second match of Day 1 in Group A action at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship in Monterrey, played on Monday at the Estadio Universitario, saw Jamaica down host nation Mexico 1-0.

Jamaica got their goal early from Khadija Shaw in the 8’ via a free kick by Deneisha Blackwood, with the ball finding Shaw and the forward scoring with a header to open the Jamaican goal count in the CWC. With this goal, Shaw ties Jody Brown for most CWC goals by a Jamaican player with four.

Mexico looked to respond and in the 15’ Diana Ordonez almost equalized the game with a header but was denied by the goalpost. 

Jamaica GK Rebecca Spencer came up with a big save in the 28’ by denying Carolina Jaramillo a goal after she tried a long-distance shot, resulting in a corner kick that the Mexican side didn’t take advantage of. 

In the 35’, after a VAR review, the referee ruled in favor of a penalty for Jamaica after Mexico’s Casandra Montero committed a handball in the area. Havana Solaun was the one who took the ball, missing the chance of extending the Jamaica advantage by sending it over the crossbar. 

They were more chances starting in the second half, as Shaw tried to surprise the Mexican front again, but was denied the 2-0 lead by the goalpost. Ordonez, in the 54’, had the equalizer again, but barely missed a header that would have been an assist by Bianca Sierra. 

Mexico kept pushing as Joseline Montoya, subbed on in the 80’, put a ball in the area but the Jamaican defense were there, ready to cover it.

With this result, Jamaica earned their first win over Mexico in a CWC match, making their overall record 1W-0D-3L.

The next opportunity for Mexico will be against Haiti, while Jamaica's next challenge will be against the United States.