Women’s World Cup: Usme Colombia’s dream girl

MELBOURNE, August 8

A second-half goal by Catalina Usme fired Colombia to a 1-0 win over Jamaica today and carried the South Americans to their first Women’s World Cup quarterfinal.

The captain’s 51st-minute strike sent Colombian fans into delirium at a packed Melbourne Rectangular Stadium and ensured the last American team in the tournament will battle England for a place in the last-four stage.

“We are representing the whole continent of South America,” Colombia coach Nelson Abadia said. “This (result) has a very special meaning. When we qualified for the World Cup the first thing I said to my team was, ‘we’re not just here to spend time, we want to make history’.”

What had been a testy and physical clash up to halftime exploded into life after Usme’s breakthrough, with both teams attacking furiously in a match-up of two of the tournament’s underdogs.

Jamaica’s ‘Reggae Girlz’ had chances to level the match but bowed out swinging in front of a crowd of 27,706, having reached the knockout phase for the first time in their second World Cup.

Morocco’s dream run ends

Adelaide: Eugenie Le Sommer netted a brace to lead France to a 4-0 victory over debutants Morocco in their last-16 match, and into the quarterfinals for the third consecutive time.

Kadidiatou Diani’s fourth goal of the tournament, a header in the 15th minute, sparked an eight-minute three-goal Les Bleues blitz, with Kenza Dali and Le Sommer also scoring at Hindmarsh Stadium, ending the North African side’s fairytale run. — Reuters