Catalina Usme scored a curling goal to give Colombia a 1-0 victory against Jamaica in the last 16 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Colombia will take on England in what will be their first-ever quarter-finals appearance.
It was a cagey first half that saw a lot of fouls from both teams. With neither side being able to keep possession for long, and an abundance of turnovers, the match was very stop-start.
Colombia, who had the better chances, looked most threatening from set-pieces, with Leicy Santos delivering good balls, forcing two saves from Rebecca Spencer, who had kept a clean sheet in all of Jamaica’s group stage matches.
Bunny Shaw saw a header from a corner go wide but struggled during open play, with the Colombia defenders successfully crowding her out.
The match opened up a lot more in the second half, and it rewarded Colombia, whose opener came in the 51st minute.
Ana Guzman, 18, who was making her Colombia senior debut, supplied a fantastic switch of play from left to right, lifting her pass to Usme. The No. 11 managed to take a touch to evade Jamaica’s Deneisha Blackwood and curled the ball across the goal and straight into the corner.
Jamaica had chances to equalise from set pieces, but their deliveries were often over-hit, and they became too frantic as the clock winded down. They leave the World Cup having only scored and conceded once in their four matches.
