Nelson Abadia’s Colombian warriors illuminated the Women’s World Cup pitch by securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over a steadfast Jamaican squad on Tuesday to safe a quarterfinals tie towards England.
But this wasn’t only a victory for Colombia; it was a triumphant anthem sung for the whole Americas.
Rewinding the clock to 2019, Colombia’s hopes had been dashed as they narrowly missed out on World Cup qualification.
However, their meteoric rise was removed from over.
In a shocking coincidence, they charged via the group levels in Australia, toppling giants and even stunning the formidable Germany.
Now, their Cinderella story had reached an unprecedented chapter – the quarterfinals.
The South Americans, ranked twenty fifth on the earth, took on the relentless Reggae Girlz, who had steadfastly held their floor, not yielding a single objective all through the match.
Colombia’s relentless assault beneath Abadia lastly bore fruit within the 51st minute.
Amid a symphony of cheers, captain Catalina Usme orchestrated a masterpiece, calmly slotting the ball house from throughout the field.
The triumph was not solely measured by targets however by a tenacious protection that stood unyielding, a fortress that advanced with every passing sport.
“Our defense were brilliant, they have been evolving over the games, and of course, we also had brilliant attackers,” Abadia stated. “We analyzed how this game would be and thank God we performed well.”
As the ultimate whistle sounded, a euphoric Abadia rallied his troops, encapsulating the spirit that fueled their hearth.
“There is immense pride. Home pride and regional pride because we know we are worthy representatives of not just Colombia but South America. Now we are playing for all of the Americas because our national team represents the whole continent.”
Yet, amid the triumph, a story of Jamaican valor have to be informed.
Ranked forty third and sometimes missed, they defied all odds, surging into the limelight with a historic first World Cup victory towards Panama and resolute attracts towards the likes of France and Brazil.
For Jamaica’s Lorne Donaldson, the defeat did little to overshadow the magnitude of their achievement.
“I give credit to Colombia; they were better than us tonight,” he stated. “But coming in (to the tournament) with no games, I feel very happy for the players that they could perform at this level. They gave everything tonight. They should be proud of themselves and I’m proud of them.”
Amid the dramatic exchanges on the sector, the followers had been handled to a symphony of brute drive and finesse.
In a gap act that noticed gamers charging ahead and tumbling beneath thunderous challenges, the ambiance crackled with vitality.
Diana Ospina’s thunderous shot was a fleeting glimpse of promise as Colombia’s rhythm started to seek out its pulse.
As the pendulum swung, Jamaica’s resilience gave method, and their desperation led to clumsy challenges, mirrored within the yellow playing cards of Chantelle Swaby and Drew Spence.
Then, a second of brilliance ignited the competition as Ana Guzman, the teenage prodigy, despatched an ethereal ball hovering to Catalina Usme.
With the poise of a seasoned virtuoso, Usme discovered the again of the online.
Jamaica, by no means ones to bow down, roared again with a shot that just about rewrote the narrative, their spirit unbreakable.
As the stage set ablaze and the ultimate curtain drew close to, Colombia clung to their goals, their victory practically doubled within the dying moments.
The header from Leicy Santos kissed the submit, a tantalizing whisper of what might have been.
Stature superiority
In the later conflict, Eugenie Le Sommer scored twice as France eased to a 4-0 win over Morocco on the Women’s World Cup to arrange a quarterfinal with co-hosts Australia.
Morocco had upset the percentages to qualify for the final 16 on the expense of Germany of their debut look on the match, however they by no means managed to put a glove on Herve Renard’s French facet in Adelaide.
Kadidiatou Diani opened the scoring on the quarter-hour mark and it was 3-0 simply after the halfway level within the first half as Kenza Dali and Le Sommer added additional targets.
Veteran striker Le Sommer, who’s France’s all-time high scorer, netted once more 20 minutes from time earlier than a crowd of 13,557 as Les Bleues superior to the final eight with minimal fuss.
They will now play Australia in Brisbane on Saturday, with the winners of that occurring to play both England or Colombia within the semifinals.
While France are determined to win a primary main girls’s worldwide title, Morocco got here into this sport with the stress off, the latter’s World Cup already an enormous success. Their coach, the previous French worldwide midfielder Reynald Pedros, named an unchanged beginning line-up following the 1-0 win over Colombia that sealed their place within the knockout part.
Renard made 5 modifications from the French facet that beat Panama 6-3, together with recalling Sakina Karchaoui at left-back.
Karchaoui, whose dad and mom are Moroccan, arrange the opener with an incredible run down the left flank, a fast trade of passes with Selma Bacha, and a cross for Diani to nod in.
It was Diani’s fourth objective on the match after her hat-trick towards Panama within the last group sport.
The second objective arrived within the twentieth minute as Diani lower the ball again for Dali to comb house a first-time end off the far submit.
And it was 3-0 three minutes after that following a defensive error, with Nesryne El Chad making an attempt to clear however solely succeeding in taking part in the ball off Diani, who arrange Le Sommer.
At that time, Morocco might need feared a good heavier defeat than the 6-0 hammering they obtained from Germany of their first sport.
However, France took their foot off the pedal after that and solely scored as soon as extra.
In the seventieth minute, substitute Vicki Becho crossed from the suitable for Le Sommer to go in her 92nd worldwide objective on the again submit.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
