The doting head coach of Jamaica’s Under-17 Reggae Gilz Marlon Hilton, said he was more than proud of his team after they showed resilience in reaching the final round of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship with a battling 1-0 win over Honduras.

Jamaca remained on course for one of the four FIFA World Cup spots available to CONCACAF after topping Group D with 10 points in Aruba.

Elizabeth Miller headed home the winner in the 44^th minute. But Jamaica had to show resilience after Ricquanna Richards was shown a red card in the 57^th minute and played the remainder of the game with 10 players.

“Reaching the final round is a proud moment for the players and the entire staff. It reflects the hard work, discipline, and belief that the team has shown throughout the campaign,” Hilton told OurToday.

He continued: “Playing with 10 players for so long and still winning shows the resilience and character of this group. The players stayed organised, trusted the system and fought for every ball.”

Jamaica were joined in the final round by fellow group winners, Dominican Republic, Panama, Haiti, Costa Rica and El Salvador, along with the two best second-placed teams in Bermuda and Nicaragua.

These eight teams will be joined by the four teams that all got a bye from the first round in the United States of America, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, making it 12 teams battling for four spots to the FIFA World Cup in October.

“We believe in this group. The final round will be very competitive, but if we continue to improve, stay disciplined, and maintain our mentality, we give ourselves a strong chance of being among the four teams to qualify for the World Cup,” Hilton explained.

The final round will begin in March, and Jamaica will be chasing a historic qualification to the FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup.