Raised expectations
Regardless of opponents, knockout round the goal at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup
Published:Friday | October 21, 2022 | 12:10 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
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History was already made when Jamaica qualified for back-to-back Women’s World Cup in July. Now, former women’s coaches Andrew Price and Charles Edwards hope that the Reggae Girlz can take the next step in their evolution by qualifying for the...
History was already made when Jamaica qualified for back-to-back Women’s World Cup in July. Now, former women’s coaches Andrew Price and Charles Edwards hope that the Reggae Girlz can take the next step in their evolution by qualifying for the knockout stage.
They will know the path they have to travel to get there as the Women’s World Cup draw takes place tomorrow at 1:30 a.m. Jamaica time in Auckland, New Zealand, when their group-stage opponents will be discovered. Jamaica are in pot three and will be guaranteed to face either of the co-hosts (Australia and New Zealand) or one of the top six teams in the world excluding the United States because of rules regarding countries being drawn into the same group.
National senior women’s head coach Lorne Donaldson as well as Jamaica Football Federation president Michael Ricketts are in New Zealand for the draw. Price said with the aura of Jamaica’s historic 2019 campaign in France diminishing, there are elevated expectations and targets that the team has to meet.
“We will definitely get one or two of the top teams in our group. What we have to do is to prepare to go there to get out of the first round. The novelty of being at the first World Cup in 2019 has worn off now. Now, it must be the concerted effort by all to at least come out of the group and move on to the knockout stage,” Price told The Gleaner.
What will be crucial in achieving that feat according to Edwards is the preparation that must improve from their 2019 cycle, something that he said made the difference in their short stay three years ago.
“I remember the last time I was asked that question, everybody was hyping up that we could win at least two of the games in that group because we looked at people like Italy and said that they were weak, and all of that. But I was saying that with the lack of preparation and everything, I did not expect Jamaica to win any of the games, and so said, so done,” Edwards recalled. “I know we are prepared, but as to how well we are playing is another question. We are mentally better prepared than we were before. That alone is a good thing for us.”
Price said that the improved quality of players to choose from in this cycle puts the team in a better place to meet those elevated objectives.
“We have better quality players than we had at the last World Cup. We have to accept that, and that is our reality. Most of the players play for clubs in Europe and in the United States. So I expect a better showing from us in this World Cup,” Price said. “It was difficult to come up with that final 23 (in France), and it’s not going to be less difficult for coach Donaldson and his technical staff to come up with that best 23 that will do us a solid effort at our second World Cup.”
Jamaica will continue their preparations with two games at home against Paraguay, the first on November 10 and the second on November 13.
World Cup Draw Pots
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
Australia Canada Denmark Nigeria
New Zealand Netherlands Switzerland Phillipines
United States Brazil Republic of Ireland South Africa
Sweden Japan Colombia Morocco
Germany Norway Argentina Zambia
England Italy Vietnam Group A playoff winner
France China Costa Rica Group B playoff winner
Spain South Korea Jamaica Group C playoff winner