Jamaica were eliminated from the CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship after conceding a late goal and drew 1-1 with host Nicaragua on Monday night.

The CONCACAF championship is a qualifier for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup set for Poland in 2026.

The young Reggae Girlz started the match in second spot in Group D based on goal difference and needed to beat leader Nicaragua to advance to the final round.

A beautiful left-foot strike goal by Andrenne Smith in the 44^th minute gave Jamaica hope and they were looking good to win and secure the top spot.

But after a couple of half chances, the Reggae Girlz were left to rue those missed opportunities as Nicaragua struck back, courtesy of a long-range free kick by Adriana Munguia in the 88^th minute. With the game ended 1-1, both teams finished on seven points but Jamaica finished second on goal difference and were eliminated from the tournament.

Jamaica had beaten St Vincent and the Grenadines 7-0 and St Kitts and Nevis 4-0.

It was another cruel blow for Jamaica. Earlier this month, the Under-17 Reggae Boyz needed a draw to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November 2025 but lost 1-2 to El Salvador and were eliminated.

Before that, in January, Jamaica’s Under-17 Women were also eliminated in the preliminaries of the CONCACAF Championships.

Jamaica’s women’s youth footballers have never qualified for a World Cup but the senior team have qualified for the last two tournaments and are fancied to make it three in a row.