‘The Girls are upbeat and prepared’

GENERAL SECRETARY of the Jamaica Football Federation Dalton Wint believes that the senior Reggae Girlz team can beat the USA team in their semi-final match of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship tomorrow and secure an automatic spot to next year’s Women’s World Cup.

After the Reggae Girlz secured a spot in the semi-finals against the number-one ranked team in the world, many pundits turned their attention to the third-place match.

Their prediction is that USA and the number-five ranked Canada will get past the Jamaicans and the Panamanians to advance to the final. But Wint believes that the Americans should be nervous going into the contest as the Girlz are riding the crest of a wave.

“It is quite possible that we can beat USA and get into the final because the girls are upbeat and prepared. The USA has to be nervous,” Wint said. “We are getting two bites at the cherry, and we need to go hard at the first one, and if we don’t make it, then we take the second chance.”

After losing 2-0 to Canada in the first match of Group B, the Reggae Girlz rebounded to beat Costa Rica 1-0 and Cuba 9-0 to tally six points and secure the group’s runners-up spot.

Wint said that the federation is elated because it appears that the Girlz will commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Senior Reggae Boyz playing in the 1998 World Cup in France with a qualification to another World Cup in the same country.

“We are feeling elated about our prospects of going to the World Cup in France next year. It would be great to mark playing in the World Cup 20 years ago with another qualification, ”Wint said.