Jamaica holds France to a 0-0 draw in a surprising Women’s World Cup 2023 opener
— Hervé Renard knows all about World Cup shocks. He also knows an early setback can be overcome in international soccer.
With that in mind, the France coach was not unduly concerned by his team’s 0-0 with Jamaica on Sunday, which was one of the biggest surprises so far at the Women’s World Cup.
Renard led Saudi Arabia to a famous win against Argentina at the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year, before Lionel Messi’s team rebounded and went on to lift the trophy for their country.
While there is no need for France to panic, this was still an unexpected result for the fifth-ranked team in the world and one of the tournament favorites.
By contrast Jamaica is ranked 43rd and entered the tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand having lost all of its games at its World Cup debut in 2019 with a goal difference of -11.
Jamaica’s players ran onto the field after the final whistle as if they’d been crowned world champions. It would have been a very different story had Kadidiatou Diani’s 90th-minute header not struck the bar.
Australia needed a penalty to get a 1-0 win against Ireland, while European champion England also needed a spot kick to overcome Haiti 1-0. Nigeria held Olympic champion Canada in scoreless 0-0.
In a game of few chances, Diani had France’s best opportunities to score a winner, but could not find a breakthrough at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The 2019 quarterfinalists were the latest to struggle against an underdog. Jamaica did well to disrupt a France team that struggled to put together fluid moves.
What's Next.?
France plays Brazil in Brisbane on Saturday. Jamaica travels to Perth where it will face Panama.
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apnews.com
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