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MEX | Jul 4, 2022

Jamaica kicks off final Concacaf W Championship matches tonight against Mexico

/ Our Today

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Full capacity crowd to witness match at in Estadio Universitario, Mexico

Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz.

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica will open their final round Concacaf Women Championship (CWC) matches in front of an expected 42,000 capacity crowd in Estadio Universitario Mexico tonight (July 4).

It is a big opener for the Mexicans at home, who need to qualify for the 2023 World Cup by making it through Group A to the semi-finals.

Mexico missed out on the 2019 World Cup in France and tonight face Jamaica, who took Concacaf’s third World Cup qualifying slot in 2019, becoming the first Caribbean women’s team to qualify for a World Cup.

MEXICO WON ALL THREE PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Since then, Mexico have rebuilt their women’s game and hosting the CWC finals is part of a progressive plan the Mexicans have for their women’s game. The two countries have met three times before in the CWC, with Mexico winning all three matches.

However, this is a very different Jamaica team with more experience and proven quality in Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw (nine goals in qualifying), alongside Trudi Carter (five goals) and emerging young star, Jody Brown (five goals). Mexico, with a team drawn predominantly from their domestic league, have quality of their own.

“It is important in any tournament to go into the first game and get a good result. It is not a do or die (game), but we are going to try to do and get a result.”

Lorne Donaldson, Jamaica’s head coach

The Mexicans will be relying on Katty Martinez, Alicia Cervantes; game-changer Stephany Mayor, Diana Ordonez, Maricarmen Reyes and on the rise player, Maria Sanchez to take the team home. The Mexicans also have the passion of a home crowd and the expectation of a big footballing nation behind them.

Mexico and Jamaica are drawn in the same group as the United States (US) and Haiti. With the power of the US to come later in the group, an opening win for either side would be a big step forward towards the semi-final and World Cup 2023 qualification.

Jamaica’s head coach, Lorne Donaldson, who only took charge of the team in June, said they had good preparation in Colorado as they brought their players together from all over the world.

“It is important in any tournament to go into the first game and get a good result. It is not a do or die (game), but we are going to try to do and get a result,” said Donaldson.

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