Women’s World Cup: Reggae Girlz Out to Cause Early Shock

France vs Jamaica

It’s a group of death at the Women’s World Cup, and we all know that three into two don’t go.

So that is what makes this opening encounter for France and Jamaica extra intriguing, as this clash has the potential for an early shock.

The focus will also be very much on the football in Sydney, which will be a relief all round after the preparations of both nations were disrupted by disputes.

Talking Points

While France’s concerns have been very much football-related, Jamaica have been dealing with off-field issues.

After qualifying for their second World Cup, the Reggae Girlz ended up using crowd funders to support their trip to Australia.

They will want now to improve dramatically as it was a chastening experience back in 2019, as they lost all three of their group games.

So, when the Reggae Girlz take the pitch this time, it will look to turn over another chapter of comebacks.

All in all, they have been an inspiration for rising from the ashes. In 2003, after failing to qualify for the World Cup, the team was disbanded a year later.

Yet by 2019, it marked a strong presence in the CONCACAF Women’s Championship and the World Cup.

They also have talent to scare the French, not least Bunny Shaw who finished last season with 20 goals and seven assists for Manchester City as she was narrowly pipped to the golden boot.

The woman nicknamed “Bunny” for a love of carrots in her infancy, she 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.

With a staggering 55 goals in 38 matches for the national team, she will be the main player the proud Caribbean nations looks to for Women’s World Cup 2023 highlights, as it aims to pull off an upset or two over the big hitters in Group F.

Yes, France and Brazil are the powerhouses expected to coast through to the knockout stages and, in Hervé Renard, the French have a new manager with real pedigree.

On the flipside, Les Bleus who qualified for the tournament in emphatic fashion as they won all 10 of their group matches, scoring 54 goals and conceding just four times, have had few matches under the new incumbent.

Long-term coach Corinne Diacre was sacked in March after several senior players said they would no longer play for the national team if she continued in charge.

Enter Renard.

He is not the first manager to have led teams at both a men’s and women’s World Cup. John Herdman did it with Canada in 2015 for the women and 2022 for the men, but he is certainly the first manager to go to two World Cups within 12 months.

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.

The French team is packed with talent including his namesake, captain Wendie Renard, who has made 145 appearances for the national team.

Widely considered to be the best defender in the world, at 6’2” tall and as an imposing figure with a superb reading of the game, she is not only a defencive powerhouse but an aerial threat in attack with an impressive 34 goals for her country.

The Lyon mainstay is set to be one of the big players of the tournament as she marshals the France defence.

Amandine Henry and Eugenie Le Sommer have been called up to the national team tenure as well, as their experience and leadership skills are expected to help France make a deep run this time around.

For Le Sommer, this tournament also provides the opportunity to overtake Gaëthane Thiney as France’s all-time World Cup appearance record holder.

Her involvement comes at an opportune moment as their top scorer in qualification, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, has not recovered from an ACL injury in time to make the tournament.

I said just under a fortnight ago that France can win this World Cup and my views hasn’t changed.

They will need to make a good start though or an early exit beckons so there will be no room for complacency against Jamaica.

History

This will be the first ever clash between the two nations.

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP Women’s World Cup 2023 betting odds make France firm favourites and I think we should expect a fair amount of goals from these two attacking nations.

 

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