Jamaica notched its first-ever World Cup victory on Saturday and moved into a tie for first place in the Group F standings with France at four points. Panama battled admirably, but Las Canaleras couldn't convert their attempts and were knocked out of contention.
The "World Cup NOW" crew — Jimmy Conrad, Leslie Osbourne and Melissa Ortiz — discuss the remarkable situation of Jamaica being ahead of Brazil in points before they face off next, putting the pressure on Brazil to win, as well as the commendable performance of debutant Panama and how this propels the country moving forward.
'World Cup NOW' crew recaps Panama vs. Jamaica
Conrad: "The conversation that needs to be had is Jamaica having this performance without Bunny Shaw, who is easily their best player."
Osborne: "[Jamaica] had multiple opportunities, Allyson Swaby coming up with a big-time goal, but it was a very transitional, stretch game and they did create some attack. I think for them, the next piece is to be more clinical in the attacking third and trying to put some more goals away so they have a little bit more comfort. But listen, they're going into this ahead of Brazil … this is a massive win for The Reggae Girlz."
Ortiz: "I wanna give them [Panama] credit, because these last 10 minutes, they were down Jamaica's throats. They had that never-give-up mentality, and a 1-0 loss in the second match isn't bad … in your first-ever Women's World Cup. Moving forward, for the last matchup they have, they should enjoy it, just really soak in the experience and see where they can grow from this. And that's exactly what they're gonna do."
