Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz were put to the sword by France and crashed to a humiliating 0-3 defeat in their International Friendly at the Stade Auguste Bonal on Friday.

Goals by Clara Mateo (22^nd), Wendie Renard (39^th) and Sandy Baltimore (48^th), propelled France to a level of revenge following their surprising 0-0 draw at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Jamaica, ranked 42^nd in the world, were no match for the 10^th-ranked French team who bossed the games from the outset and dominated in no uncertain manner running out easy winners. France had 75 per cent of the possession to Jamaica’s 25 per cent and took a whopping 32 shots compared to the Reggae Girlz two attempts on goal. Jamaica had no shot on target. The French team had 20 corners while Jamaica had none.

Jamaica’s head coach Hubert Busby remained philosophical citing the short window they had to prepare.

“I think overall, considering again, the lack of preparation that we’ve had. We came up against a really good French team in a really competitive environment. I thought overall, as the game went on, the team got better,” he pointed out. “But these are the games that we want to play. We have to just keep on building on what we want to do as we head into the next window.”

Jamaica which are preparing for the World Cup qualifiers which start in 2025, were with inspirational captain Khajida Shaw of Manchester City. However, Busby explained that the team met some of their objectives.

“I think the ability for us to continue to have some cohesion. You know when you bring in new players into the group, you can see that it’s a little bit disjointed. So, the more that we can continue to be together and keep building as a group, the better we’ll be,” he noted.

Jamaica will play the 52^nd-ranked South Africa in Jamaica on November 29 and December 2 at the National Stadium. “We kinda turn the page and get ready for the next window in Jamaica when we host South Africa and then we look to build on the principles that we’ve laid this week and to correct some of the things, that we didn’t do in tonight’s match,” said Busby.

Jamaica played a 4-2-3-1 formation and coach Busby gave debut to Liverpool captain Taylor Hind who started at left back alongside the Swaby sisters Chantelle and Allyson at centre half and Tiffany Cameron at right back. Vyan Sampson and Atlanta Primus were the two holding midfielders while Deniesha Blackwood, Jody Brown and Shania Hayles started behind the lone striker Kayla McKenna who was replaced by Natasha Thomas who was making her debut.

 A last-minute injury had forced out top midfielder Drew Spence while new call-ups to the team Lulu Jarvis, Reanna Blades and Davia Richards will have to wait for their debuts as coach Busby continued to search for that winning combination.

“I’m always looking to build the team and improve in every way that we can. The core of the team is still pretty much the same. So, it’s just about gelling those relationships and building as a team and every single place person in this team matters,” said Busby. “So, it’s everybody understanding that and being ready when their opportunity comes.”