Panama W vs Jamaica W prediction: WORLD: World Cup Women betting tips on match 2023-07-28 12:30.
Panama may have been the last nation to secure their place at this FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC), but could become one of the first to the exit door if they’re defeated here. The tournament debutants were thrashed 4-0 by Brazil in their Group F opener, and another loss to Jamaica in Perth will end their campaign. Coming into this match on the back of three successive losses where they conceded a total of 16 goals without reply, the Canal Girls are swimming against the tide to avoid an early exit.
Coach Ignacio Quintana is keen to focus on the positives though, looking at the WWC as “the beginning of the real project”. A win here would boost that assessment but Panama will have to rediscover a solid run of form prior to the three straight defeats (W6, D1, L1) to have any chance of remaining in the WWC.
Jamaica celebrated becoming the first Caribbean team to make consecutive WWC appearances by securing their first-ever point at the finals thanks to a hard-fought goalless draw against France. Defender Chantelle Swaby reckoned that “believing in ourselves as a team” was key to that performance, although losing star striker Khadija Shaw to a late red card could prove costly in this crucial clash.
Coach Lorne Donaldson will hope that Shaw’s absence won’t derail their chances as a win here could put them in pole position to qualify ahead of their final group game with Brazil. The biggest positive though is that the draw against France marked a second consecutive clean sheet for the Reggae Girlz who had conceded 13 goals in the three matches prior to this run.
Key battle: Karla Riley could be the player to kickstart Panama’s resurgence as her last three national goals have seen them remain unbeaten (W2, D1). She may have to go past Tottenham’s Rebecca Spencer in the Jamaican goal, with the stopper having picked up consecutive clean sheets in national colours.
Hot stat: In five of Panama’s last seven games, the match opening goal was scored within the first half-hour.