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Late goal ends U20 Girlz World Cup dreams
February 25, 2025
The U20 Reggae Girlz's road to the 2026 FIFA U20 Women's World Cup came to an end yesterday as they were held 1-1 in a must-win game against Nicaragua in their final group stage match of the Concacaf Women's U20 Qualifiers.
Andrene Smith's opening goal in the 43rd minute proved not enough for the young Girlz, as Adriana Munguia's late equaliser in the 88th minute gave Nicaragua the point they needed to take Group D honours.
Jamaica had started the better of the teams and came close to scoring the opener when a strike from Alyssa Stephenson crashed off the crossbar.
The opener would come just minutes before the halftime whistle, however, as Smith caught the Nicaraguan goalkeeper by surprise and her volley from distance flew into the back of the net.
Both teams would come close to scoring in the second half as the game quickly saw end-to-end action, much to the delight of the spectators.
Nicaragua had an opportunity to pull level, and who would have felt they had done so for a quick second, when a ball swung to the back post was met with a header that sent the ball rippling the wrong side of the net.
But Jamaica's Maya Raghunandanan tested the goalkeeper in the 80th minute of play when her effort from range whistled just wide of the right post, forcing a diving save from the Nicaraguan custodian.
The hosts would not be denied for too long after, however, as with the clock ticking down, Munguia converted a free kick to tie the game and send Nicaragua through to the next round of qualifiers.
The result means Nicaragua claimed the top spot with seven points, level with Jamaica. However, the Central Americans have been given the nod due to a greater a goal difference.
In the other Group D fixture, St Vincent and the Grenadines edged St Kitts and Nevis 1-0 to take the third place spot with three points.
St Kitts, without a win, finished fourth in the group without a point.
