Women's World Cup 2023: Colombia down Jamaica to book England quarter-final

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. The leave the World Cup having only scored and conceded once in their four matches.

Colombia had to be incredibly patient against Jamaica. They were coming up against a side that hadn’t conceded a single goal in the groups, despite playing the likes of France and Brazil. They certainly struggled in the first half to create any clear-cut chances, but they remained composed.

In the second-half, they saw that Jamaica’s narrowness was the way to exploit them and scored by switching flanks quickly. After the goal, Jamaica were forced to come out a bit more, which only suited Colombia.

They also defended well and managed to eliminate most of Bunny Shaw’s threat - Jamaica’s star player.

Worked tirelessly in the first half, attempting to press from the front. Was a creative outlet as well, with three key passes and two big chances created. Her one shot on target was the crucial goal, perfectly placed to send Colombia through to the quarter-finals. Usme also showed incredible leadership, slowing play down in the final minutes, and directing her teammates to ensure that Colombia kept the lead.

The assist-maker Ana Guzman certainly deserves an honourable mention, not just for her goal contribution, but for the way she came into the side in the absence of Manuela Vanegas, who missed the match due to yellow card accumulation, and defended incredibly well, keeping all of Jamaica's threat from the right at bay. So much so, that the Reggae Girlz switched their attack to the other side for most of the match, to avoid coming up against her.

COLOMBIA: Perez 7, C Arias 7, Carabali 7, D Arias 7, Guzman 8, Bedoya 7, Garcia 7, L Caicedo 7, Santos 7, Ramirez 7, Usme 8.

SUBS: Montoya 6, Restrepo N/A.

JAMAICA: Spencer 7, C Swaby 6, Blackwood 5, A Swaby 6, Wiltshire 7, Sampson 6, Spence 6, Brown 6, Carter 6, Shaw 6, Van Santen 6.

SUBS: Primus 6, Cameron 7, McNamara 6, Matthews 6, Simmonds 6.

51' - GOAL! COLOMBIA 1-0 JAMAICA: AND THE DEADLOCK BREAKS WITH USME GETTING THE OPENER! Colombia finally get a breakthrough in the final third, and Jamaica's narrow full-backs are at fault. A great pass from Guzman whose on the left finds Usme on the right in the penalty box. She gets past Blackwood, and slots it home. The fans are loving it as Colombia celebrate! It's Jamaica's first goal conceded at the tournament. How will they react?

83' - BIG CHANCE FOR JAMAICA: Jamaica's best chance of the game is JUST WIDE! Cameron's cross finds Spence, who gets a free header but she can't get it on target.

86' - OPENING FOR COLOMBIA: Caicedo with some brilliant feet, but can't get the shot off. She wins the corner and the crowd cheer as she shows off a bit. They love her.

87' - SANTOS HITS THE POST: COLOMBIA ALMOST DOUBLE THEIR LEAD! C Swaby deals with the corner initially, but it's pinged back to Santos who heads it low. The ball goes past Spencer and hits the post!