Jamaica v Brazil
In a dour tactical battle, Jamaica and Brazil shared the points in a 0-0 draw, which undoubtedly felt like a loss to the Brazilian team who failed to make the knockout stages. Despite having many chances to find a winning goal, Brazil were unable to claim victory ending their Women’s World Cup hopes.
The Reggae Girlz celebrate their first time making the knockout stages, finishing second in Group F behind France, who they drew 0-0 with in their opening match of the tournament. Jamaica will face the winner of Group H, which is currently being led by Colombia.
Tactical Analysis: Jamaica
Donaldson opted to keep the 4-1-4-1 formation which proved successful in Jamaica’s 1-0 win over Panama. Undoubtedly this formation allowed Jamaica to have a fifth person join their defensive line when called upon, keeping a strong foundation to stop any threat posed by Brazil. When Brazil attacked their penalty area, Jamaica used numbers in the box to stop any shots, with four players deflecting Marta’s most promising chance on goal.
Having five players in the midfield allowed Jamaica to set up in an ultra defensive manner, knowing that a point would take them through to the next stage of the tournament, with the task of not letting Brazil find the back of the net. Jamaica thrived in pressuring Brazil, with often two players isolating a single Brazilian player, particularly high threat players such as Debinha.
Khadija Shaw led the attacking line solely, using her pace and strength to pose a threat to Brazil’s defence on the counter attack. However, with central midfielder players such as Drew Spence and Atlanta Primus dropping deeper in the Brazil attack, Shaw found herself on a solo run on many occasions, not having the support to find the net and being surrounded by two or more Brazilian defenders.
Overall, Jamaica kept a strong defensive formation, bringing the play to one side of the pitch when necessary, bringing all players into a small area of the pitch during goal kicks. Jamaica dominated the central areas to force Brazil to make use of the wide areas, keeping their chances of defending attack at a high. In goal, Becky Spencer remained strong and worked with her team to stop any chances that Brazil had to secure a win.
Key Players: Jamaica
- Becky Spencer
Goalkeeper Becky Spencer pulled off many great saves throughout the match, stopping Brazil goal scoring chances and keeping Jamaica’s hopes of making the Round of 16 alive. She displayed great confidence in handling the ball, and was a strong presence in the box with great determination to deny Brazil chances on goal. Her great saves continued late into the match, and she saved Brazil’s last chance on goal in 90+2 seeing out Jamaica’s draw.
- Khadija Shaw
Leading the attacking line, handling Khadija Shaw proved to be a task for Brazil’s defence, as she had many attacking runs and tried to find a goalscoring chance. In attempts to stop her, she often found herself surrounded by two or more Brazilian players. She tested the goalkeeper, and was able to get her shots away whilst having narrow room due to Brazil overloading her. She dropped deep when needed, joining Jamaica’s strong defensive central area, causing Brazil to look for other ways to attack using the wide areas.
Tactical Analysis: Brazil
Brazil stuck to their familiar 4-4-2 formation, making only two changes from their 2-1 loss against France. Veteran Marta replaced Geyse in the centre forward position, bringing a wealth of experience to the attack and a new inspiration to Brazil in attempts to create game winning opportunities. Kathellen replaced Lauren Leal at centre half, slotting into the defence beside Rafaelle.
Brazil attempted to find a way past Jamaica who lined up in a defensive manner. Brazil successfully had numbers in attack, using both right and left full backs Antonia and Tamires Cassia on the channels to pose a threat to Jamaica and deliver crosses into the box. This proved to create more opportunities to attack for Brazil, with Antonia often being involved on the right channel and delivering long crosses into the box, and Tamires Cassia being involved in attack on the left wing, having chances at goal herself.
Similarly to Jamaica, they isolated attacking players, often having two or more players defending an attacking player in possession. This stopped the high goal scoring risk of Bunny Shaw on many occasions, having a defender on both sides stopping her from getting her shot at goal.
Forward players Debinha and Marta found themselves in all areas of the pitch, dropping deeper when needed and adding numbers to both sides of the pitch when needed. Trying to create chances on goal themselves, they also set up their teammates to try and find as many ways to find the net as possible.
Key Players: Brazil
- Marta
It’s no surprise that the highly experienced Marta was influential in Brazil’s lineup. Getting her first start in the 2023 edition of the tournament, she easily slotted into the centre forward position, creating dangerous runs and chances on goal to test the Jamaican defensive line. She tested goalkeeper Becky Spencer and was present on all sides of the pitch, supporting attacking movements and finding space to advance play.
- Tamires Cassia
Tamires Cassia played a high and wide fullback role, joining the defensive line when called upon but remaining ever present in attacking opportunities. She posed a threat to Jamaica, finding crossing opportunities and delivering balls into the box. She tested the goalkeeper, trying to score from the left side. She made great use of the left channel, adding a new dynamic to the Brazil attack and adding to the numbers trying to break the strong defensive wall of Jamaica.
- Antonia
Dominating the right side, Antonia made use of her right full back position to press Jamaica on the right channel. She showed strong defensive challenges, stopping many Jamaican runs. She used her crossing and ball delivery skills to send crosses into the box from distance and link up with her teammates across many areas of the pitch.