‘We stick together’
Khadija Shaw speaks ahead of tough World Cup qualification final round
Published:Wednesday | April 20, 2022 | 12:09 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Although national striker Khadija Shaw has taken over captaincy duties for the Reggae Girlz in this World Cup qualifying cycle, she says that leadership has been a team effort as they look towards back-to-back World Cup qualifications.
Jamaica advanced to the eight-team final round tournament after topping their first-round group with four straight wins. They will head to Monterrey, Mexico in July chasing a place in the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The absence of Konya Plummer from the team for the qualifiers led to interim head coach Vin Blaine appointing Shaw to the role. And while she has led on the field by her play and example, she says that the leadership role is shared, especially with those who were a part of the team’s run to the 2019 World Cup in France.
“Everyone contributes at the end of the day. But one has to wear the armband so that doesn’t really say much. But we are a very strong group. We have been together for quite some time, since the last World Cup, especially the core,” Shaw said.
“So it is just about communicating and talking together. So I don’t think it is just a one-person job. We all come together and just stick together.”
Shaw scored nine goals in the first round of qualifying, including a brace against the Dominican Republic in the team’s final group game, which Jamaica won 5-1. She now has 51 international goals.
FOCUS
But apart from achieving personal milestones, Shaw said that the last few months have been about keeping the continuity in the team through what has been a difficult period.
“It was just about coming back together. We played in October and we had a few months out. Obviously, we came back out and it wasn’t the best environment that we came back in, but we stuck to the game plan and stuck together as we have always done under pressure and that’s what we did,” Shaw said.
Shaw says that consecutive World Cup appearances are possible but the team will need proper preparation to be in the best form possible.
Shaw said that the team has to focus on themselves regardless of their final-round opponents.
“You can see we are a very talented group but if you don’t have the preparation and come together as much as possible, then we will lack the chemistry and it will eventually fade away,” Shaw said.
“It’s down to us. We have been there and we have been through difficult moments. Any team that comes we just have to deal with it and stick together. We just have work hard and be prepared for when that time comes.”
That preparation will be for Group A of the Concacaf Women’s Championship where Jamaica face World Champions, the United States, hosts Mexico, and Haiti.
The top two teams qualify automatically to the World Cup, while a third team faces a continental play-off.