🏆 The good, the bad &, yes, some ugly for Concacaf at the Women's World Cup group stage
Our WWC correspondent breaks it all down. Plus: A surprise Conca-catch-up!
All right everybody, the 2023 Australia & New Zealand World Cup Group Stage is a wrap!
A record six Concacaf nations went into the tournament, with just two (the USA and Jamaica) moving on to the Round of 16. Disappointingly, three of the six nations finished bottom of their respective groups (Haiti, Costa Rica and Panama). And none of the sextet topped their groups either.
It’s not, perhaps, the outcome some were expecting. Personally, I would’ve bet on more than two Concacaf nations advancing into the Round of 16. However, along with many other pundits, I’ll have to hold my hand up and say I didn’t foresee Jamaica knocking out Brazil. Fair play Reggae Girlz, fair play.
It has been 12 years since a non-Concacaf nation won the women’s World Cup. Is this the year that streak ends?
Without further ado, pour yourself a cafecito or a flat white and settle in for some roundup analysis of how each nation fared in the Group Stage Down Under:
Jamaica: History makers in green and gold
Jamaica head coach Lorne Donaldson is a man of his word (sort of). Seven weeks ago he gave an interview where he said that if Jamaica won the World Cup he would do a cartwheel or even take his shirt off in celebration.
Well, it wasn’t for triumphing in the final but Donaldson did do a cartwheel when the final whistle went in the 0-0 draw with Brazil. The coach and his players were understandably jubilant after defying the odds to eliminate the South Americans and seal a historic first-ever spot in the World Cup knockout rounds.
Perhaps a trip to the Quarterfinals could prompt the removal of less integral item of clothing?
Drew Spence - probably Jamaica’s most effective midfielder thus far - could be seen screaming, “We told you!” after the match. Goalkeeper Becky Spencer was asked about the reaction to advancing out of the Group Stage in the post-match press conference.
“Players and staff, we know we have a real togetherness and a family feel,” she said. “We had a point to prove. For months, we’ve been saying it. We’re getting out of this group.”
From starting a GoFundMe to help provide resources for the World Cup campaign, to then knocking out the Copa America champions and arguably the greatest women’s footballer of all-time in Marta. It’s been quite the journey for these Jamaica players.
But I also think unpacking the journey is important. It’s hard to ignore the lack of investment they’ve had from the federation. Five years ago, this team didn’t really exist. Cedella Marley steps in to make that happen. Four years ago, they qualified for their first World Cup. They were happy to be there, losing all three matches, but they gained experience.
That experience was seen all over the field, like with the starting center back duo, sisters Allyson and Chantelle Swaby. Both were in the 2019 World Cup squad. Allyson, Jamaica’s captain, is nicknamed ‘Mama Swaby’ while Chantelle goes by ‘Baby Swaby’. They have been the bedrock of the Reggae Girlz success this summer.
“We were younger [in 2019], the Swaby sisters were very young. Happy to be there. This time, we say, ‘Hey, we’re not going to just show up.’ People said it was impossible, but the mentality of us is to say: “Nothing is impossible,”” Donaldson said Wednesday.
Watch this Jamaica team dig in and you’ll see a team that is savvy. Tournament ready. Resilient.
They stay focused, they relish defending and have dropped into an impenetrable compact 4-4-2.
It hasn’t been pretty, but you can’t criticize qualification with a hat-trick of clean sheets.
USA: Not having an okay time
For the first time since a 0-0 draw against Sweden in the 2015 Group Stage, the USA failed to score, and thus failed to win a World Cup match. Have you heard? The sky is falling.
As much as we all love to get the popcorn out and listen to people get in their feelings about the state of the USWNT, the style of soccer isn’t the biggest shock here.
The USA’s 0-0 draw with Portugal, and the first half of the 1-1 against the Netherlands, brought home some truths about Vlatko Andonovski-ball that we have seen pretty consistently since the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. There has simply never been enough dynamic movement or midfielders making themselves available to receive the ball.
And then there’s the personnel issues.
Their best midfielder plays left back. Their right back is a left back. Their starting center back was last seen before this tournament as an undroppable holding midfielder. Their star attacking midfielder was injured for three months and is now suspended.
If Ana Capeta’s shot in the 92nd minute had not hit the post and instead went in, and Portugal had advanced, then it really would’ve been time to go nuts. But for now, as crazy as it sounds, it feels like we don’t know what the future holds for this team. Knockouts are knockouts.
To Carli Lloyd’s chagrin, Lynn Williams told the media on Thursday that the USWNT is finding joy in making the Round of 16, and it is something to celebrate. “Not diminishing the accomplishment, that was the name of the game…tournaments are about getting results and we’re getting results,” she said.
Still, the knives are out for Andonovski. And the old Scandinavian foe awaits.
Canada: End of an era
It’s been a double helping of maple syrup sort of week for Canada. My goodness, what a heartbreaker. And many more questions remain about the future of this national team.
What is so hard to take is not that Canada were eliminated, but more so the manner in which they were eliminated. Although Group B was the ‘Group of Death’, with a quartet of aspirational nations, the path to advancing was right there for Canada. If Christine Sinclair scores a penalty against Nigeria, they’re through.
Nothing will be more painful than the 4-0, ‘Stop, stop they’re already dead!’ capitulation to the co-hosts Australia. Canada, a team who love grinding out draws, had gone into the Group Stage finale needing only one more point to advance. It ended with the Reds being sent packing by suffering their biggest defeat ever under head coach Bev Priestman.
Aside from the second half comeback against the Republic of Ireland, we saw a suboptimal version of Canada. Individual errors and poor execution were to blame for a Canada team that overall looked heavy wearing the jersey this summer.
And understandably so. Like Jamaica, and so many other nations, there is an ongoing feud with the federation. Funding issues and the compensatory future of the team were left hanging over these players.
It’s a cruel metaphor to see double-centurion legends Sophie Schmidt and Chrisitne Sinclair bow out in these circumstances, when so many questions about resources for the youth national teams remain.
Many will also start to wonder, how long does Priestman remain in charge? A real changing of the guard.
Panama: Enjoying every minute
Soccer results are wonderfully subjective sometimes. Show a stranger Panama’s celebrations after their final Group Stage match - a 6-3 defeat to France - and they would never be able to guess the scoreline or outcome.
Panama may not have picked up any points in their first-ever World Cup, but they did manage to score three momentous goals and put on an energetic and entertaining performance for 40,000 spectators. These are massive accomplishments for the Central Americans.
It doesn’t get much more special than the historic first-ever Panama goal at a women’s World Cup scored by Marta Cox. The stunning direct free kick from 30 yards out was an immediate frontrunner for goal of the tournament. Her technique, which creates an absurd amount of bend on the ball, at a high speed, will leave you speechless.
The Pachuca attacker also lost her mother to cancer a year ago and dedicated the goal to her memory. And you could tell the celebrations were a raw outpouring of feeling.
Head coach Iganacio “Nacho” Quintana opened his post-match remarks by saying, quite stone faced, that Panama was unhappy because they had targeted a draw from the France match. But he quickly softened up, and you saw the coach get misty eyed talking about a golazo for the ages.
“It will be a moment for all of us to remember…You might say it’s just one goal, but what it means is amazing. That relief, that joy, especially because of how it happened, it can be a candidate for the Puskas award. I know it will be something very motivational and really inspiring,” Quintana said.
Quintana’s program has been backed more than some other federations of their size, and the head coach admitted that after the match too. In addition, Quintana stated his intention to stay on as coach and prepare for next year’s inaugural women’s Gold Cup. He emphasized that just appearing at the World Cup is only the beginning of what he believes he can achieve with Panama.
Haiti: Come outside Marta Huerta, we just want to talk
Unfortunately, the Red and Blues leave Australia & New Zealand as the only Concacaf nation not to score a goal. In fact, one of just two teams in the entire tournament (along with Vietnam) who failed to find the back of the net.
Haiti will feel really hard done by in this tournament. Philosophically, zero points and zero goals for Haiti feels totally wrong.
The intensity, the snap and tempo, of their performance against England was deserving of a point at the very least. And the 1-0 defeat to China was terribly unlucky too. In that match, the World Cup debutants played over an hour with an extra player advantage but couldn’t make it count.
Against China, referee Marta Huerta awarded Haiti a penalty, only for it to be overturned harshly on a VAR review. Huerta then went on to wave away two more penalty shouts, both of which were highly debatable. An exasperated coach Nicolas Delepine said the win was “snatched” away from them that night.
Haiti was pretty defensively sound for the most part. Until Sanne Troelsgaard scored for Denmark in the 10th minute of second half stoppage time, the Caribbean Islanders hadn’t conceded a goal that wasn’t a penalty. Although, conceding a penalty in every match isn’t the best tactic either.
Delepine came in with high hopes of taking the second spot in a pretty open Group B, but in the end it was poor finishing that held his team back. Just 5 shots on target (21% of total shots), which ranked 29th in the competition. Amassing a somewhat respectable non-penalty xG of 2.1, which ranked 22nd, means that one could argue the team’s chance creation and positioning wasn’t as dire.
Defender Batcheba Louis summed it up by saying that the Haiti players were “disappointed but proud” with how they exited their nation’s first-ever women’s World Cup. In general, the sentiment of this squad is one of hope. Haiti had the youngest squad at the tournament (average age 23.7), so this does not feel like the end of what this group can accomplish.
Costa Rica: Limiting the damage
Amelia Valverde is the second-longest serving head coach (behind Franciso Neto) of any of the 32 at this year’s World Cup. But could her time be up with Las Ticas?
If the comments by the president of the Costa Rican soccer federation are anything to go by then maybe not just yet
Rodolfo Villalobos told FIFA.com on Monday that he was not someone who is “results-oriented” and that he would be looking to “value everything” in terms of the growth this team made. In his mind, the achievement of qualifying for a first-ever World Cup was enough of a win for Costa Rica. Questions will be asked about what resources are available and what the ambition of this program looks like.
Despite three defeats, eight goals conceded, and little resolve, Las Ticas did score their first-ever World Cup goal. Melissa Herrera with right-place-right-time header from point blank range. The Costa Rican also went viral for staring down Spain’s Olga Carmona after a physical coming together.
Flowers must be handed to goalkeeper Daniela Solera as well. The six-foot shot-stopper had more saves (24) than anyone else in the Group Stage. She saved a fantastic penalty against Spain, and finished with a positive post-shot xG +/- (+1.2). Perhaps a move to a more competitive league beckons?
Remember to subscribe to to support Theo’s work and learn much, much more about women’s soccer in the Concacaf region and beyond.
The Conca-catch-up is back up!
(This part is by Jon)
🏆 You read
’ thoughts, but a quick word from me. deeper on the Women’s World Cup group stage with a Concacaf lens.I wrote heading into the tournament that while six teams from the region were qualified, it looked like a difficult path for four teams to get out of the group stage. And, it was, but not in the way we expected. Canada was eliminated, while Jamaica moved through, undefeated in a group that included France, Panama and Brazil.
I’m looking forward to the potential Reggae Girlz v. Brazil grudge match at the Concacaf W Championship early next year, when Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Colombia join as invited teams.
🇨🇼 Curacao’s federation terminated the contract of Remko Bicentini as men’s national team manager. This time it appears he learned of it in more conventional manners than last, when he was on a bike ride and his daughter called to ask how he felt about being let go.
 | A guest post by
|