The mostly clinical performance by Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz in reaching the final Concacaf round of qualifiers for the Fifa World Cup next year stirs optimism that the team has what is required to yet again make it to football’s highest stage.

Many football fans weren’t even paying proper attention a few years back when Jamaica’s women footballers started their bid to qualify for the 2019 Fifa World Cup in France.

All that changed in October 2018 when the Jamaicans defeated Panama 4-2 on penalties to reach the global showpiece.

Today, a few of Jamaica’s leading female footballers are household names and expectations for the national team have grown. The recent failed qualifying campaign by the Reggae Boyz would only have added fuel to popular aspirations.

Yet, if anything, the task this time for Jamaica’s women footballers is probably tougher. That’s due to rapid growth of the women’s game in Concacaf — partly inspired by Jamaica’s example.

Jamaicans were understandably focused on their team’s efficient 5-1 win over the Dominican Republic — potentially tricky opponents — at Sabina Park last Tuesday to complete their first-round qualifying schedule with maximum points.

They may have missed that Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti are the other Caribbean teams to qualify for the next round. The Haitians were particularly impressive in a 6-0 demolition of Cuba in their final game.

The Trinidadians played to a tense 2-2 draw with Guyana to top their group.

Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago will join Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, women’s football powerhouse USA, and Canada in the Group of eight to decide Concacaf qualifiers for next year’s World Cup.

Canada and the United States received byes by virtue of being the top-ranked teams.

The top-four teams from the Concacaf group will qualify for the Fifa Women’s World Cup to be jointly staged in Australia and New Zealand between July and August 2023. The two next-best finishers will have another shot at qualifying through inter-confederation play-offs.

The enormity of the task ahead is underlined by the fact that four teams in the group — United States, Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica — are ranked above Jamaica.

Still Jamaicans — least of all our women — are rarely daunted by underdog status.

An encouraging aspect of the Reggae Girlz play under interim Head Coach Mr Vin Blaine — who took over from Mr Hubert Busby at short notice last year — has been marked improvement game by game. Good teamwork combined with physical strength and talent means they should be tough opponents for even the very best.

We strongly believe that should the Jamaicans qualify, they won’t be mere participants, but respected competitors Down Under. Back in 2019, the Jamaicans failed to win a game while scoring just once. This time around, should they get to the World Cup the Reggae Girlz will be aspiring for much more.

Obviously, they will need all the resource support that’s possible. We recall the build-up to the last World Cup when Ms Cedella Marley was central in providing material support, setting a wonderful example.

We expect that corporate Jamaica, in partnership with Government, is aboard for this exciting trip up ahead.