Football: From "Frisco to France": Jamaica's Reggae Girlz Clinch Women's World Cup Berth

FRISCO, USA — After putting in many hours, arduous workouts and mind-cramping focus in an effort to qualify for the 2019 Fifa Women's World Cup, the Reggae Girlz have finally done it.

The dream was realised courtesy of a 4-2 penalty shoot-out win over Panama in the Concacaf Women's Championship third-place play-off after both teams had played to a 2-2 stalemate in full and extra time on a cold and rainy night in Frisco, Texas, yesterday.

With the victory, the Jamaicans achieved their best-ever finish at the championships surpassing their previous best of fourth in 2006, and by extension became the first Caribbean team to qualify for the showpiece event in women's football.

Tears rolled down the cheeks of talented football players as they made their way back to the dressing room in celebration of their historic accomplishment.

Those tears of joy later gave way to jubilant cheers as they sang the National Anthem before skipping to the team anthem Strike Hard by the Marley brothers.

Captain Konya Plummer is hoping that their demonstration of commitment and patriotism to Jamaica will inspire others.

“The feeling is unbelievable; we went out and did what we had to do and created history, so I am just speechless right now. I am just extremely happy that after putting in the hard work we have accomplished what we set out to and we are now celebrating the reward of our labour.

“I would like to say congrats to my teammates, the coaches and everybody involved for what we have done for Jamaica and we hope this will have a big impact on the younger players coming up and even those around the world who are aspiring to achieve big things but are struggling at the moment,” Plummer said.

“We just have to refocus and get ourselves together to go to France because whatever we do there will also be a part of history, so we just want to go there and continue to write our destiny,” she added.

Twenty-seven-year-old Sashana Campbell, who recently made a return to the programme, was at a loss for words by the accomplishment, as, in an earlier interview, she had told this newspaper that this might be her last cycle with the team.