France, ranked 5th in the FIFA rankings, drew with Jamaica, ranked 43rd in the FIFA rankings, without scoring.
France played Jamaica to a 0-0 draw in the first match of Group F of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand at the Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia, at 8 p.m. (local time) on June 23.
France, who thrashed South Korea 4-0 in their opening match on home soil four years ago, struggled in their first Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup match in four years.
With France, a traditional powerhouse that has reached at least the quarterfinals in each of the last three World Cups, facing Jamaica, a team making only its second appearance at the tournament, most pundits and fans were expecting a French upset, but as soccer is all about sticking it out, the results were anything but. Following New Zealand’s win over Norway and Haiti’s 0-1 loss to England in the opening round, Jamaica was another upset.
From the start of the first half, Jamaica used their physicality and pace to torment France, with ‘French Legend’ Wendy Renard’s header and Khadidiatou Diani’s shot saved by ‘Tottenham Women’ goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer.
In the 41st minute, Jamaica’s center back Khadija Shaw (Man City) had a free kick saved by French goalkeeper Pauline Perronin (Juventus). The first half ended 0-0.
The second half remained scoreless for France. As time wore on, the French grew nervous. With no goals in sight, France made a change in the 21st minute of the second half, bringing on Vicky Bechot and Kenza Daly. In the 22nd minute, Bechot’s flying header went just wide of the goal. France continued to dominate possession and create chances, but Jamaica’s resistance was strong. Spencer made a frantic save in the Jamaican goal. In the 30th minute of the second half, Le Sommer fired a sharp shot that Spencer again threw himself to save.
With over 70% ball possession, France were clearly the better team throughout, but soccer speaks in goals. As the BBC put it, “Jamaica, who have conceded a whopping 12 goals in their three group games at the 2019 World Cup in France, including a 0-5 defeat to Italy, were held to a draw by the world’s fifth-ranked team with less than 20 minutes remaining.
Diani missed again in the 44th minute when his crucial shot hit the crossbar and came back off the post. In stoppage time, Renard and hard-charging ‘Jamaica’s fighting captain’ Khadija Shaw were sent off for a second yellow card. But Jamaica held firm to the end. They came together under pressure. Just before the whistle, Spencer once again saved Kenda Daly’s shot and the game ended 0-0. There was more drama to come. .
Jamaica made history against France after losing their first three matches at the Women’s World Cup in France four years ago. It was the first World Cup win for Jamaica’s women’s soccer team, and it was a dazzling 1 point, worthy of a ‘100’. 파워볼
