Jamaica coach Lorne Donaldson hailed his side’s 0-0 draw with heavyweights France at the FIFA Women’s World Cup as their best ever result, following a heroic defensive effort.
France, ranked fifth in the world, dominated possession and the shot count (13-6) in front of 39,045 spectators at Allianz Stadium.
But Les Bleus couldn’t find a way past Jamaican goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer and her determined outfield colleagues.
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For France, Kadidiatou Diani headed against the crossbar in the 90th minute and she also went close on a number of other occasions.
Jamaica, the world No.43-ranked side, finished the game with 10 players after captain and star forward Khadija Shaw was sent off in second-half stoppage time for a second yellow card.
France scored a win without conceding a goal in the opening match of their last three World Cup campaigns, but weren’t able to keep that streak going, having only five shots on target despite their glut of possession.
It was Jamaica’s first Women’s World Cup finals point after they lost all three games in their inaugural appearance four years ago..
“You are playing a team like France, who is fantastic. I think it’s the number one result I have seen with our women,” Donaldson said.
France coach Herve Renard hoped Jamaica would produce similarly inspired performances against the other group F teams, Brazil and Panama, who face each other in Adelaide on Monday.
“I feel we deserved to win, they didn’t get any chances, of course they were fighting,” Renard said of Jamaica.
“They did their best, they played a good game.”
The teams had to deal with a couple of heavy showers but the commitment of both sides was quickly evident.
France captain Wendie Renaud and Shaw both required treatment after an early clash of heads and Chilean referee Maria Carvajal issued three first-half yellow cards.
Spencer did well to push away a strong Diani shot which threatened to sneak inside her near post in the 36th minute.
Jamaica’s best first-half effort was Shaw’s powerful 30-metre free kick in the 41st minute which zipped just past a post.
The French dominated even more after halftime, with Eugenie Le Sommer having a shot saved by Spencer and Diani heading just wide twice before her final attempt hit the woodwork.
The Reggae Girlz had their first attempt on target attempt in the 65th minute, but Cheyna Matthews’ soft header was comfortably saved.
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