Jamaica’s magical women’s World Cup run ends with optimism and the world’s respect

MELBOURNE, Australia — Somewhere down there, in a corner of the stadium, a few hardy souls tried to cheer Jamaica on to another World Cup upset on Tuesday.

Elsewhere on this big planet, kindred spirits made the same effort: in Philadelphia, in London, and anywhere else the Jamaican diaspora has put down roots over the years.

The Reggae Girlz have long faced uphill fights on and off the field. There have been battles to make the World Cup, battles to get on pro club teams, and battles for recognition — and proper funding — in their own country.

So what was it to go up against Colombia, with its thousands of deafening fans and one of the world’s top young talents in Linda Caicedo, in Jamaica’s first knockout-round game at any men’s or women’s World Cup?

The answer: nothing more than there had already been. Jamaica surprised much of the world by finishing second in its group, tying powerhouses Brazil (and its horde of joyous rooters) and France after beating Concacaf colleague Panama.

It did so with a defense so tenacious and snarling that it achieved a feat matched by only three of the 32 teams at this World Cup: not conceding a single goal in the group stage. And Jamaica did so with genuine joy.

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“We didn’t have any doubt in our minds what we were capable of, and I think the belief that we have in each other showed this tournament — I think that we defied the odds together,” said forward Cheyna Matthews, a veteran of the National Women’s Soccer League. (She’s also the wife of former Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews.)

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A key to that fortitude has been manager Lorne Donaldson. The Jamaican-born longtime youth soccer coach in the Denver area — with former pupils including U.S. stars Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson — took the helm of the Reggae Girlz last year and piloted them to their second straight World Cup.

It was far from easy, and not just because of the competition on the field. Jamaica’s women’s team has long been vastly underfunded by the nation’s soccer governing body. Instead, its backing has come from Cedella Marley, daughter of music legend Bob Marley, who made the team her passion when few others would.

This year, things got so bad that two crowdfunding campaigns were launched to get money to the team before the World Cup started. In mid-June, the players published an open letter to the Jamaican Football Federation calling out “concerns resulting from subpar planning, transportation, accommodations, training conditions, compensation, communication, nutrition, and accessibility to proper resources.”

The players also accused the JFF of not paying them on time, a too-familiar accusation there and beyond.

The situation still is far from perfect. But Donaldson and his players have shown immense resilience, and it translated to the field.

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As for that joy? Donaldson said when the team arrived first in Sydney, it went out for the evening and found a Colombian party on the next floor down at the establishment. They ended up merging their gatherings.

Since then, practices have been full of music and dancing, with even Donaldson getting involved.

“I can’t do it as well,” he said, drawing laughs from all over the room. “But that’s just a part of what we do. … We love to have fun, and I just think you’re not going to come around this way again, so we might as well enjoy it. And when it’s over and done, you can remember it and say, ‘I had a good time.’”

At the end of Jamaica-Brazil, a 0-0 result that saw Jamaica advance to the knockout rounds and Brazil bow out, there was a moment that indeed will be remembered. Brazilian legend Marta, who had just finished her final World Cup game, embraced Jamaican superstar Khadija “Bunny” Shaw and offered words of encouragement — a passing of the torch in real time.

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Union goalkeeper Andre Blake, the captain of Jamaica’s men’s team, watched with pride from home. A few days later, he lavished praise on his counterparts in an interview with the Jamaica Gleaner, one of the nation’s top newspapers.

“Listen, Jamaica is a special country, we have special talent and when that talent comes together and works as a group, it does not matter who thinks they are not good enough to be there,” he said. “Nothing beats belief in one’s self and one’s abilities.”

Matthews thanked Blake and the rest of her team’s fans for their backing.

“I get comments and messages from people in Kingston, Portland [Parish] — which is where my family is from in Jamaica —­ and just all over,” she said. “It means a lot that they’re watching, that they’re taking us seriously, and that we have their support.”

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Alas, Jamaica’s magic finally ran out Tuesday in a 1-0 loss to Colombia. Catalina Usme broke through for the goal in the 51st minute, sending Las Cafeteras to a quarterfinal matchup against mighty England on Saturday in Sydney (6:30 a.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62, Peacock).

Now comes perhaps Jamaica’s toughest test of all, one the JFF failed terribly after its women’s World Cup debut four years ago. Will this run finally produce the money needed to make the program a long-term success?

“2019, nothing came out of it, really — there was more chaos than should have been forward thinking.” Donaldson said a few days ago. “As we see, this one might be a little bit different — and I say might be.”

On Tuesday night, he issued another call.

“Hopefully, we all can come together now and try to figure something out so we don’t do something hodgy-podgy all the time,” he said. “The sun is going to come up tomorrow, so we have to be ready to go and just get on with our lives. … Magnificent job. Nobody expected this, so let’s build on what we started and see what happens in the next tournament.”

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In fact, Jamaica will be back on stage much sooner than that. September will bring a home-and-home Olympic qualifying playoff series against reigning gold medalist Canada. That will be another chance to make a statement, especially with the potential to draw a big crowd.

“I think we still have momentum from this even though we lost,” defender Chantelle Swaby, a Rutgers graduate, said.

They have the world’s respect, too, and hopefully they’ll keep it for a long time.

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