KINGSTON, Jamaica – Former assistant coach of the national senior women’s football team, Andrew Price, says the Reggae Girlz, who will face former champions Brazil and France in the group stages of the FIFA Women’s World Cup next year, are equipped to advance to the knockout round.

Price acknowledged the enormity of the task, as the Reggae Girlz have been drawn in a tough group, but he believes they are adequately equipped to put up a strong challenge and earn a spot in the knockout stages.

“I believe that once they go in there and give it their all, I believe that there is a possibility and a good possibility that they can come out of their group,” Price told OBSERVER ONLINE. “It’s a tough group, a very tough group and it won’t be easy, and at this level, none of the groups are expected to be easy, but I believe they should be very competitive…”

“Brazil has been champions in the past, while France has always produced good teams over the last couple of World Cups, so we’re definitely the underdog in the group. But in football, the game is played on the day and on the given day, any team can beat another…with the quality and the confidence we have, we have to be quietly optimistic,” he added.

The Reggae Girlz, in their World Cup debut in France in 2019, faced Brazil, Italy and Australia in the first round, which all ended in defeats for the Caribbean team.

However, Price expressed that the Jamaican side has as good a chance in the competitions as any team that has qualified. He added that the current squad has gained more experience over the last four years, noting that several of the players are currently playing in professional leagues in the United States and England.

“I believe their chances are as good as any of the teams that have qualified for the tournament. I also believe that the team is much older, much experienced, and much wiser and I think it has much more quality than the team that qualified in 2019,” Price told OBSERVER ONLINE.

“If you look at the whole core of the team, most of them [players] play professionally either in England or in the United States and they are playing against tough opposition week in, week out. This has only made the players better and stronger competitors. So, I expect them to do well in the tournament,” he added.

The Reggae Girlz are scheduled to play two international friendlies against Paraguay, which head coach Lorne Donaldson indicated will be used to further assess the players’ development as preparation for the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.