'Target on our backs'
Busby outlines tough road to 2023 World Cup as Girlz find out their first-round opponents today
Published:Saturday | August 21, 2021 | 12:10 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
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Whatever path the national senior women's team will have to take towards the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, head coach Hubert Busby Jr says that his team will have to be prepared to handle the role of favourites throughout the first round of...
Whatever path the national senior women's team will have to take towards the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, head coach Hubert Busby Jr says that his team will have to be prepared to handle the role of favourites throughout the first round of qualifying.
The Concacaf Women's Championship (CWC) qualifying draw takes place this afternoon at 2. and the Reggae Girlz will know the opponents they will have to face to advance to the 2022 CWC final round. The tournament will determine the four teams who will represent the region at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
With the exception of world champions the United States, and Olympic champions Canada, who have already qualified for the final round, the 30 remaining teams will be placed in six groups of five, where only the group winners will advance to the final.
In their quest to qualify for back-to-back World Cup finals, Busby says that they are expecting a difficult road whomever they are grouped with as their 2019 World Cup qualification comes with the added complication of becoming a target.
"Regardless of whoever, we are going to play against some good teams," Busby told The Gleaner. "Some really good up-and-coming teams, and the reality is now we have that bullseye. We are the scalp, the major, major scalp for these teams.
"Those four games represent, in some cases, the biggest games that some of these teams will play in the last four, five years. Make no mistake about it, these are four games in which teams are going to be up for every single game against us and we have to prepare for that, not just physically, but technically and mentally as well."
Jamaica remain ranked at 51 in the world according to the latest FIFA ranking released yesterday. They are also ranked fifth in the region behind Costa Rica (fourth) and Mexico (third) and above Panama (sixth), teams that will be included in today's draw. The USA and Canada remain ranked first and second, respectively, in Concacaf.
The 2022 CWC also has an added incentive with the revamped changes that Concacaf made on Thursday, with the tournament also serving as a qualifier for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Only the winner gets an automatic berth, with the second and third-place team contesting a play-off to determine the last spot.
Busby says that the recent performances from both Canada (gold medallists) and the United States (bronze medallists) at the Tokyo Olympics have further cemented how difficult the region has become and how important it is that they get their preparation perfect for their campaign which starts in November.
"It's a very competitive region," he said. "We have always stated that for those that wanted to listen, and the reality is that if you look at those who place first and third at the Tokyo Olympics, they are from our region. So that speaks for itself when it comes to women's football in terms of our strength.
"We have a lot of work to do, and we know that as a staff. The players understand that, but I think just recently it kind of reiterates just how much planning and preparation need to go on to get on the plane to Australia and New Zealand."