Girlz drubbed 7-0 at Pan Am Games
Published:Monday | October 23, 2023 | 12:09 AM
Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz were drubbed 7-0 by Mexico as the women’s football competition opened at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, yesterday.
The Jamaican football squad is largely inexperienced as the island’s top players were due to compete in the qualifiers for next year’s Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup on dates which clash with the Pan American Games. The senior Reggae Girlz who went to the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup have since withdrawn from the squad for the Gold Cup qualifiers due to what they described as continued “mistreatment” by the Jamaica Football Federation.
The JFF has called up a new squad for the Women’s Gold Cup qualifiers. They will play Panama away on Wednesday, October 25, before hosting Guatemala at the National Stadium on October 29.
Mexico dominated yesterday’s match and led 3-0 at half-time. Maria Sanchez (14th), Karla Nieto (35th), and Kiana Palacios (42nd) were the scorers in the half.
After the break, Diana Ordonez (58th), Alicia Cervantes (70th), Sanchez (75th), and Charlyn Corral from the penalty spot in the 85th minute completed the rout.
In other matches yesterday, the United States (under-19 team) beat Bolivia 6-0, and Chile clipped Paraguay 1-0.
Jamaica’s next match at the Games is against Paraguay on Wednesday. The women’s football competition at the Games is divided into two groups with four teams each. The Reggae Girlz are in Group A along with Mexico, Chile, and Paraguay. Group B: USA Under-19, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Bolivia.