With the second phase of their journey to France now behind them, Jamaica’s Under-20 Reggae Girlz Head Coach Lorne Donaldson and his team are now plotting the way forward, ahead of the crucial CONCACAF Championship in January.

The Jamaicans, by virtue of their commanding display in the recently concluded final round of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualifiers in St Kitts and Nevis, continue to don the proverbial blue ribbon as the only Caribbean team to have qualified for all CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championships since its inception in 2002.

Following up on their easy first-round qualification in Bermuda in July, where they hammered Curacao 10-0 and Bermuda 2-1, the young Reggae Girlz were more plucky in a slightly tougher spot, as they edged Dominican Republic and rivals Haiti 1-0, before easing past hosts St Kitts and Nevis 9-0.

Assistant Coach Xavier Gilbert had high praises for the team, which also qualified the country for the 2018 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games to be staged in Colombia in July.

“It was a very good performance from the young ladies to finish unbeaten and without conceding a goal, which is a remarkable achievement. It is something that we have always been shooting for, so it goes to show the commitment and spirit of the girls in accomplishing this feat and we are happy and proud that everyone played their part,” Gilbert told the Jamaica Observer shortly after arriving in the island yesterday.

“It started from the two friendly contests in Trinidad and Tobago which gave us some momentum, and we just capped it off with the performance in St Kitts, especially by beating a good Haitian team that has travelled around the world playing friendlies and have been together for quite a while. So it was a top performance from our girls to defeat them,” he added.

However, the celebrations will be short-lived as powerhouse defending champions United States and Mexico, along with Central Americans Nicaragua, will prove more formidable when the Jamaicans journey back to Trinidad and Tobago.

The twin island republic, Canada, Costa Rica and Haiti will do battle in Group A of the January 18-28 tournament, which will see three teams qualifying for the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup in France.

“We are already looking forward because there are some areas that we need to work on; we need to definitely work on our fitness and over the next few weeks, that’s what we will be focusing on. We are hoping that we can assemble them again in December heading into January right after the holidays, and get a few games to keep them going,” Gilbert noted.

He continued: “We always know that there was a possibility that we might meet them (USA and Mexico) from the start, and in order for us to advance to the World Cup we have to beat one of these two teams.

“We know that and we are prepared to do that. We couldn’t take anything for chances so we had to qualify first, and we did so in fine style and credit must be given to the overall team in terms of their achievement.”

Finally, Gilbert pointed out that there will be a few additions to bolster the team heading into Trinidad and Tobago, especially after a spate of injury concerns over the past weeks.

Local central defender Peterkaye Green and Canadian-based midfielder Maya Swaby-Wallerson with an Achilles injury could possibly miss out, while US-based Giselle Washington is still being monitored for a knee injury.

“We are looking to qualify for the World Cup, so we would want the best players to represent the country and we are going to select the best squad that we can to represent Jamaica.

“Based on assessment and examination done we are confident that she [Washington] will be ready for the tournament in January, but we are not so sure about the others so we have to wait and see,” the tactician ended.