Jamaica's Women's World Cup success is frightening for Canada
Teams will square off for an Olympic spot in September
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Today at (the hilariously named) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, 43rd-ranked Jamaica battled No. 8 Brazil to a scoreless draw to secure its first-ever trip to the knockout stage in the Women's World Cup. It came at the expense of the Brazilians, who made a shockingly early exit after finishing third in Group F.
Jamaica placed second after following up its startling 0-0 draw vs. No. 5 France (the eventual group winner) with a 1-0 win over Panama that marked the first victory by a Caribbean team in Women's World Cup history. Then came today's advancement-clinching draw vs. Brazil, a country with a population roughly 75 times larger than Jamaica's and a soccer tradition orders of magnitude greater, including a record five men's World Cup titles.
Another unexpected twist: after giving up an astonishing 12 goals (and scoring only one) in its World Cup debut four years ago in France, Jamaica has shut out all three of its opponents so far in Australia.
All this after the Jamaican players, fed up with their national soccer federation's lack of support, turned to crowdfunding to help pay their World Cup expenses. Nearly $100,000 US was raised for the team through two fundraisers.
WATCH | Sinclair rings alarm bell after Canada's World Cup exit:
With Jamaica so successfully emulating Canada's blueprint, the Olympic champs ought to be very worried about the teams' upcoming playoff for a spot in the 2024 Paris Games. The two-leg contest will be played Sept. 22 in Jamaica and Sept. 26 in Toronto and decided by the aggregate score.
The winner goes to the Paris Olympics. The loser is out. And the latter outcome is suddenly in play for a Canadian team that can no longer view this playoff as a mere formality.
Other notes from the World Cup today:
*Sweden defeated Argentina 2-0 to win Group G with a perfect 3-0-0 record and set up a fascinating round-of-16 clash with the top-ranked United States. The Americans' bid for an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup title isn't looking so hot after they won just one of their three matches and managed only four goals en route to placing second in their group. Now they'll face a Swedish side that took silver at the 2021 Olympics, is currently ranked No. 3 in the world and just outscored its group opponents 9-1.
*South Africa secured its first-ever trip to the knockout stage in dramatic fashion, clipping Italy 3-2 with a goal in stoppage time. The 54th-ranked Banyana Banyana improved greatly on their World Cup debut four years ago in France, where they lost all three of their matches and got outscored 8-1. South Africa's playoff opponent is the ninth-ranked Netherlands, which topped the U.S. for first place in Group E. The eliminated Italians, ranked 16th, have only advanced twice in Women's World Cup history.
*With its last-place finish in Group G, Argentina failed to advance for the fourth time in four Women's World Cup appearances. The country that captured its third men's World Cup last year has yet to win a match in the women's event.
*Speaking of men's soccer powers making a quick exit from this Women's World Cup: Brazil's 0-0 draw vs. Jamaica left the Seleção feminina out of the knockout rounds for the first time since 1995. It also marked the final World Cup appearance for the great Marta, whose 17 goals across six tournaments are the most in women's history. The 37-year-old forward will retire having never won a World Cup. Her best performance came in 2007 in China, where she was named the top player after scoring a tournament-high seven goals and leading Brazil to the final, where it lost to Germany.
*France beat Panama 6-3 to win Group F. Les Bleues, ranked fifth, will face the second-place team in Group H, which will be decided when the group stage wraps up on Thursday. 25th-ranked Colombia, one of the best surprises of the tournament, will try to hold onto its lead over Germany after shocking the world's No. 2 team 2-1 on Sunday with a goal in stoppage time.
