Jamaica won its first qualification for the round of 16 of a Women’s World Cup, at the expense of star Marta’s Brazil, eliminated after this new poor performance, Wednesday in Melbourne (0-0).
The “Reggae girlz”, with one victory and two draws (5 pts), finished second in group F, behind France (7 pts).
For their second participation in a World Cup, they managed the feat of eliminating regulars from the final table, the Brazilians, who had not experienced such an early exit since 1995.
The players coached by Lorne Donaldson will play their round of 16 next Tuesday against an opponent they will know on Thursday. For the moment, Colombia is best placed to face them.
Beaten 2-1 by France last Saturday, Brazil, third (4 pts), needed a victory to qualify, or a boost from Panama against Les Bleues.
But the 8th nation in the world came up against the defensive wall of the Jamaicans, who did not concede a single goal in the competition. And at the same time, in Sydney, the Panamanians did not perform a miracle (6-3 defeat).
After Canada, this is the second major selection to leave, from the groups, a tournament which has shown that the gap is closing between the established selections and their pursuers.
Holder, star striker Marta played her last match at a World Cup, her sixth, at 37.
She had burst into tears on Tuesday at a press conference when discussing her career and her legacy.
The Orlando player was substituted in the 81st minute, without having had the opportunity to score and thus became the first player, men and women alike, to score in six editions of the World Cup.