Jamaica vs CanWNT game on September 22 will be the first of two games that will determine who will be the second Concacaf entrant in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The USWNT has already qualified after winning the 2022 Concacaf W Championship.
Jamaica vs CanWNT Predictions at Independence Park
The push to defend Gold pic.twitter.com/bzpA6xMWPd
— CANWNT (@CANWNT) September 19, 2023
CanWNT (1-1-3)
The CanWNT head coach, Beverly Priestman, has expressed her disappointment on the disappointing 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign, where they failed to advance past the group stage (source: Neil Davidson of The Canadian Press):
“What I learned in that moment is it doesn’t matter where you are in the world – I could have been sitting in my office – it still sucked,” Priestman said in a virtual availability Friday. “Like the players, I’ve poured every ounce of me into this team and preparing this team for the World Cup and we came up short.”
READ MORE: CanWNT World Cup Recap And Future Outlook
This was the first time Canada failed to make past the group stage since the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It is also the first-time ever that an Olympic champion failed to make it past the group stage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. A big reason for that is Canada losing 4-0 to Australia and a scoreless draw against Nigeria.
However, Canada has a chance to flip that script as they travel to Jamaica at Independence Park. This will also likely be Christine Sinclair’s last chance to play in the Olympic Games next year.
Jamaica (2-2-1)
Literal tears in our eyes as we post this! The Reggae Girlz will advance to the Round of 16! HISTORY IS BEING MADE RIGHT IN FRONT OUR EYES
.#ReggaeGirlz #FIFAWomensWorldCup #FIFAWWC #JAMBRA #BeyondGreatness #JFF_Football pic.twitter.com/4YssYcwwBG— Official J.F.F (@jff_football) August 2, 2023
This is while, for Jamaica, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. They only scored one goal all tournament, in a 1-0 win over Panama. However, they were able to get draws against top-10 sides like Brazil and France, which helped the Reggae Girlz make the Round of 16 over Brazil.
They did lose to Colombia in the Round of 16, but the job was done and what this team can accomplish. This is what Jamaican head coach, Lorne Donaldson, said about the historic performance of Jamaica in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (source: Mike Woitalla of Soccer America):
Jamaica’s main concern will be their scoring, as they have only scored two goals in their last five games. They are, however, very solid defensively, and will be playing at home for the game on September 22.
Injury Concerns for the CanWNT and Head-To-Head Matchups
The CanWNT will enter this game with some worrisome injuries as both Deanne Rose and Jayde Riviere will not be at the game because of injuries and will be replaced by Annabelle Chukwe, a star in the CanWNT in both the U-17’s and U-20’s teams. Also, it was revealed in a media press conference when Priestman answered a question on the potential return of Janine Beckie:
“So, Janine headed off, we will see her again, in Toronto where she’ll reintegrate, I think, with all the travel and, you know, trying to get her rehab, right, we felt would just meet her in Toronto, but I will say, to bring Janine in a positivity, energy hasn’t changed one bit, and I think it was really well received. And even today, to see her, I think she got the group in and give some words.”
In the last three games, Canada has dominated Jamaica in women’s soccer. This included a recent 3-0 win over the Reggae Girlz in the 2022 Concacaf W Championship. This included Jessie Fleming scoring a goal, and also a player that helped Canada secure the gold in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Jamaica will feel though that they are a better team now and will have the advantage of playing at home for the first leg on Friday.
Predictions and Summary
Reggae Girlz attacker Cheyna Matthews has a very important message for you all. Have a listen. pic.twitter.com/UlSOoc3ljD
— Official J.F.F (@jff_football) September 17, 2023
Jamaica 1 – CanWNT 1
This game will be tight. While some people may expect Canada to get the win, playing in other pitches in different countries can be difficult as seen when the CanMNT drew with Jamaica in World Cup qualifying. This is what Priestman said about the conditions in the online media press conference when asked about it:
“Yeah, I think you know where we’ve just been, we were trained in Florida and it was unbelievable heat and humidity. And, you know, you step off the plane here and you feel the same. So yeah, absolutely. I think we’ve done everything we can, as we always do to prepare the players even before they got on a flight and got to the heat. And yeah, I think it’s going to be a warm occasion, and, you know, the pitch is going to be very different to what we’re used to as well. So it’s going to bring its own challenges.”
Canada, however, should still be able to get a result as they have enough offensive power to score at least one goal at Independence Park in Kingston, Jamaica. The game will be shown live on OneSoccer and Telus at 8:00 PM ET on Friday. The second game will take place at BMO Field next Tuesday, as the game will start at 7:00 p.m. ET in Ontario’s capital. That game on September 26 will also be shown live on OneSoccer and Telus.
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Concacaf Women’s Championship
14 July 2022 – San Nicolás de los Garza, NL, MEX
Photo Credit: Canada Soccer by Mexsport
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