Sports International Jamaica defy the odds as Marta bows out

Jamaica manager Lorne Donaldson said his team had “never had this much fun” after reaching the Women’s World Cup last 16 for the first time, leaving Brazil devastated.

They battled out a cagey encounter in Melbourne and Jamaica put in a stubborn defensive display to ensure their impressive tournament still has another chapter.

The Reggae Girlz, ranked 43rd in the world, have kept three clean sheets in the group stages of their second World Cup, having conceded 12 goals in three defeats in 2019’s competition.

“We were not expected to be in the World Cup in 2019,” said Donaldson. “The programme was fairly new and we said, ‘Oh, we’re in!’. It was like being deer in headlights.

“We were very young and happy to be there. This time around we said, ‘Hey, we’re not just going to show up. We’re going to get out of the group.’ Our mentality was that nothing is impossible.” strong position when they held group favourites France to a goalless draw and followed it with a crucial 1-0 win over Panama without star striker Khadija Shaw, who was suspended after being sent off in their opening match. defence and offering very little in a desperate fight to stay in Australia.

Manchester City’s Shaw returned to the side in Melbourne on Wednesday, adding muchneeded threat for Jamaica on the counter-attack.

Former Arsenal centre-back Rafaelle Souza largely kept Shaw at bay, though the Jamaican’s presence alone caused problems and she almost scored with 10 minutes remaining, firing over the bar on the break.

They almost found a golden touch in the third minute of secondhalf stoppage time when Andressa pounced on a scramble in the box, but Spencer was again equal to it and Brazil’s substitutes fell to their knees in despair in the dugout.

It is a disappointing early exit for the South American champions who took their European counterparts England to a penalty shootout in the Women’s Finalissima at Wembley in April and had high hopes coming into the World Cup.

“There’s a lot of feelings of course,” said Brazil manager Pia Sundhage. “In the locker room there’s many sad players and coaches.

Brazil, who recalled striker Marta to the starting XI, could not find the goal they needed and England held their nerve to earn a stunning win over Australia for the first time at a Netball World Cup and finish top of Group F in South Africa.

England overturned an eightgoal third-quarter deficit to win 5655 in front of a thrilled crowd.

It is only the second time the Roses have beaten Australia since their Commonwealth Games triumph in 2018.

England will face New Zealand in the semi-finals while Australia will play Jamaica.

England will contest their semifinal at 10:00 BST on Saturday, with the second at 15:00. Both matches will be live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

Defending champions New Zealand suffered their biggest ever loss at a World Cup with a 5948 defeat by Jamaica but South Africa’s 52-50 win over Uganda was not enough to overtake the Silver Ferns.

England were already assured of their last four place going into the match on Thursday, but the result means they maintain their unbeaten record with six wins from six.

They have never won a Netball World Cup, having taken the bronze medal at the past three stages of their second World Cup world, have kept three clean sheets in failed to progress for the first time in 28 years.

Marta, 37, is the all-time leading scorer in men’s or women’s World Cups with 17 goals but will not feature again on this stage, with her sixth tournament coming to an end having made three group-stage appearances. After this goalless stalemate, Jamaica could face Colombia or Germany in the last 16, while France go through as Group F winners following their victory over Panama in the other match. Jamaica put themselves in a

That was Jamaica’s only real chance as Brazil built pressure and searched endlessly for the goal they needed to take them through to the knockout stage.

Marta, who went off to huge cheers after 80 minutes, had a few glimpses at goal, while Debinha, Luana and Tamires all drew saves from Jamaica goalkeeper Becky Spencer.

But Brazil were predictable and lacklustre, struggling to break down Jamaica’s well-organised

“At the end of the day I’m responsible for the result. Of course I’m not alone, but the way we have worked and have prepared is something I need to look back on and see if we could have done things differently.

“We put in a lot of work, but at the end of the day it’s Jamaica [who progress]. It’s not a big distance between failure and success.” (BBC)

Netball World Cup 2023: England 56-55 Australia - Roses beat Diamonds in thriller

editions.

However, they will gain huge confidence from the way they fought back against world number ones Australia and kept their composure in the final seconds to seal an important win.

“The fact we were eight goals down, to be pushed in the last 15 minutes and still come out on top - you can’t underestimate what that tells me about where the group are at mentally,” head coach Jess Thirlby said.

“We know that we’ve got two games to come and it means nothing if we can’t follow it up. But for today, it is important to allow the players to celebrate.”

Tenacious England Secure Victory

After England cruised through the rest of their preliminary matches, their clash against 11-time world champions Australia marked their first real test of the tournament.

Thirlby has tinkered with her starting line-up in Cape Town, figuring out the best combination for starting the match and who will have the biggest impact from the bench.

England fired out of the blocks to lead by two after the opening quarter, with favoured shooting partnership Helen Housby and Eleanor Cardwell in scintillating form, missing just one goal between them all match.

But, seeking to reclaim the world title they lost to New Zealand four years ago, Australia adapted quickly, with defender Sarah Klau the key.

Changes were needed in the second half for England to overturn the deficit and they arrived in the form of inexperienced defensive duo Funmi Fadoju and Fran Williams as well as wing-attack Chelsea Pitman.

The substitutions had the desired effect as former Diamond Pitman injected some creativity into the attack while Fadoju and Williams added crucial interceptions along with Imogen Allison, who has had a stellar tournament so far.

With the score poised at 45-44 in favour of Australia going into the final 15 minutes, the Roses struggled to break down the Diamonds’ defence.

But a crucial tip from Williams in the final seconds meant England could maintain possession and play down the clock to take an historic win.

“Every win is a confidence boost for us,” said mid-courter Allison.

“It is something that keeps us going day after day - getting one over Australia is a good one.

“We’ve had some games where we’ve been able to throw out different combinations and that is why we were able to go and do it out there. All the girls that came on had a huge impact.”

England will be keen to not get carried away - Australia lost their final pool match against Jamaica at last year’s Commonwealth Games and went on to win the title - but a win against the Diamonds before the semi-final is a huge marker to lay down.

Jamaica Continue Form With Nz Win

With two matches in two days against two top teams, it was perhaps no surprise that New Zealand started slowly against the Sunshine Girls, who raced into a four-point lead after the first quarter.

The Silver Ferns managed to engineer a way to grow back into the game and, led by captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Maia Wilson in attack, they cut the deficit to three points at the interval.