Canadian women face reloaded Jamaican squad at CONCACAF W Championship

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On paper, Canada versus Jamaica in the semifinal of the CONCACAF W Championship is a mismatch.

The Canadian women’s soccer team, ranked sixth in the world, is a perfect 8-0-0 all-time against the 51st-ranked Reggae Girlz, outscoring them 57-1. In their last meeting during 2020 Olympic qualifiers, Canada cruised to a 9-0 win, with Jordyn Huitema scoring five goals.

But neither team is expecting a repeat of that result when they meet in their semifinal match Thursday night in Monterrey, Mexico.

“The Jamaica that we played in 2020 is definitely not the Jamaica that we see now,” head coach Bev Priestman said. “I think everyone can see that from the tournament… They've got attacking, quick threats that we've got to take care of.”

Jamaica qualified for its second-straight FIFA Women’s World Cup after finishing second in Group A. They upset the hosts, Mexico, 1-0 in the opener, dropped a 5-0 decision to the United States before closing out the group stage with a 4-0 win over Haiti.

“Our history playing Canada has been a bit rocky,” forward Kayla McCoy said. “But we're a completely different team now. We're a lot more developed. We’re coming in with a lot more confidence, a lot more self-belief. So, I think going into this game, we're just excited to see what we can produce and I think that we can get a result.”

Jamaica became the first Caribbean nation to qualify for a Women’s World Cup when it made its tournament debut in 2019. The current roster boasts several players who currently compete in England’s Women’s Super League (WSL) and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).  

“We're really excited to play Jamaica again,” Canadian midfielder Quinn said. “I think from the last time we played them, they've