If the reigning World and European champions, USA and England, got fairly lucky when it came to the draw for this summer’s Women’s World Cup, two other big hitting footballing nations were anything but.
That is Brazil and France who, no sooner had been paired together last October, were immediately dubbed as being in the ‘group of death’.
And it’s so true!
However, before focusing on the South Americans and Les Bleus and potential Women’s World Cup highlights, spare a thought for Jamaica.
For this is the second successive tournament in which they have been pitted in such a pool.
The fate of the Reggae Girlz in 2023 has echoes with that of 2019 as, once again, they will face Brazil and France, the latter semi-finalists at the European Championships last summer.
There’s no doubt in the ability within Jamaica’s team – led by Manchester City striker Bunny Shaw.
The woman nicknamed ‘Bunny’ for a love of carrots in her infancy scored goals aplenty in American college soccer and with Bordeaux in France, before moving to City, where she has continued to find the net on a frequent basis.
Yet to finish in the top two will be tough.
That they will be one of the teams having to make a long trip west to Perth for their second game – a city some 2,000 miles from Sydney, where their first game will be played – won’t help either.
Certainly, if the Reggae Girlz are to improve on their first World Cup showing, expect Shaw to be at the heart of it.
Should they qualify for the knockouts, the draw doesn’t get much easier, as a runner-up spot would likely land them Germany in the next round.
The players say their focus has been hindered by a number of issues such as inadequate planning and access to proper resources in the build-up to the tournament, which kicks off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
Jamaica, who lost all three games at their first World Cup four years ago, begin their 2023 campaign on July 23 against France in Sydney.
Panama make up the group and the SBOTOP Women’s World Cup betting odds are naturally stacked heavily against them.
As for France, they have had former captain Amandine Henry helping them prepare after she was called up by coach Herve Renard.
The capture of Renard, appointed in March after the players rebelled against predecessor Corinne Diacre, is something of a coup.
This is the coach who, until recently, was in charge of the Saudi Arabia men’s team, ending a four-year spell highlighted by an unforgettable victory over eventual champions Argentina in the group stage of last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
He says his goal as new boss of the women’s team is to reach at least the semi-finals at the World Cup and the Paris Olympics.
And what of Brazil, whose six-time world player of the year Marta faces a race against the clock.
The future for the Selecao looks bright too with Barcelona’s 24-year old striker Geyse and Kansas City’s Debinha both highly talented.
Other emerging stars include midfielder Ary Borges and forwards Adriana and Kerolin who have broken their way into the squad, showing their appetite for hard work as the team plots an upward trajectory following the defeats to USA and Canada at the SheBelieves Cup.
Although 37 year-old Marta has been recovering from a knee injury, she is expected to play a role in their bid for victory as the South Americans are coached at a World Cup by a European for the first time.
Pia Sundhage, who led the US to two Olympic gold medals, has had nearly four years to transform the team.
They performed well in the two latest friendlies despite Marta’s absence, holding England to a 1-1 draw before losing the Finalissima on penalties at Wembley Stadium. Days later, Brazil beat second-ranked Germany 2-1 in Nuremberg.
What a fairytale it would be and a fitting swansong for Marta if they could go one better than their best-ever finish, runner-up to Germany in 2007.
Brazil’s performances in the tournament will also come against the backdrop of the nation (amongst others) bidding to host the next edition of the Women’s World Cup.
I think they and France will prevail but don’t rule out Jamaica in this ‘group of death’.
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