Goalkeeping is one of the most technical positions on the football field, yet Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz number one Rebecca Spencer makes it look easy in word and deed.

No doubt, excellent goalkeeping is the backbone of the backline, and the fact that Jamaica could navigate their way through the group phase of the FIFA Women’s World Cup without conceding a goal, says a lot about Spencer’s skill level and that of the other defenders.

In their Group F heroics, the Girlz were successful in holding fifth-ranked France and eighth-ranked Brazil goal-less, before clipping 52nd-ranked Panama 1-0 to finish second behind the French to historically qualifying for the Round of 16.

With their campaign marred by talks of insufficient practice games, inadequate overall preparation and limited funding, Spencer believes the Reggae Girlz should now be taken seriously and receive the necessary support and respect after their historic exploits at the World Cup.

“I hope they got a national holiday back in Jamaica for our performances. I hope everyone in Jamaica had an enjoyable time because I know there were thousands of people watching the game and we had a lot of fans in the stadium. And I hoped that we could give them something to enjoy and be proud of,” Spencer explained.

“We had a point to prove, and the better we do, the more pressure it creates, and I hope they are looking at us and taking us seriously — as they should have done — and to give us what we deserved out of everything. “There are a few families out here, so it’s a long journey and a lot of money spent on getting the families out here, and I hope they enjoy the ride and the games,” the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper added.

The 43rd-ranked Girlz, who lost all three World Cup games to Brazil, Italy, and Australia in France in 2019, have shown significant development on this occasion and are making headlines at the World Cup.

Spencer stated that no one believed in the Reggae Girlz before the start of the competition, but that belief remained constant because to the players’ and coaching staff’s unwavering determination to achieve.

“Absolutely, I felt that we have been hugely underestimated. Obviously with the huge noise that was going on outside of us playing and the lack of matches that we had leading up to the tournament, I don’t think anyone took us seriously,” the outspoken Spencer said.

She continued: “As a group, like I said, both players and staff, we know that we got togetherness and family filled in our group. We were resilient and we had a point to prove. For months we have been saying it, we are getting out of this group and we have proven just that. I am just proud of everyone for sticking together and getting it done and now we want to keep going.”

Spencer stated that this fairy-tale run has led to the greatest achievement for women’s football in Jamaica.

“I believe that qualifying for the knockout stages is the best achievement in the country’s history.” We have inspired a generation, and for a third-world country and obviously Caribbean teams, we are showing that we are catching up with the top teams and showing what can be done.

“For us as a group of players, a group of staff, I think we just leading the way in terms of that and we are showing the kids and players in Jamaica what can be achieved,” Spencer ended.