Saturday, October 28.- The Chilean female's football team needed to beat Jamaica to qualify for the semi-finals, and they did it convincingly. They won 5-0 against the Caribbean team, securing their place in the semifinals at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
Considering that Jamaica had conceded 17 goals in their previous two matches against Mexico and Paraguay, an emphatic victory was expected in favor of the Chilean team. However, during the first half, the Central American team, despite having more determination than skill, managed to keep the score level.
It wasn't until the 44th minute that Yastin Jiménez managed to open the scoring for Chile with a beautiful lob. And just a minute before halftime, in the penultimate minute of the six minutes of added time, Yessenia López scored a fantastic long-distance goal, making it 2-0.
In the second half, with the advantage on their side, the Chilean team played more relaxed, dominating the game with greater authority and delighting the nearly 15,000 spectators who had come to the Estadio Elías Figueroa in Valparaíso. Franchesca Caniguán (55'), Isidora Olave (68'), María José Urrutia (78'), and Karen Araya (82') completed the Chilean rout. This marked the end of their Group A participation with two victories against Paraguay (1-0) and Jamaica (5-0) and one defeat to Mexico (1-3).
"It was a challenging match, and it took time for us to find the back of the net. It seemed like we were losing patience, but it was just a matter of waiting and trusting in our abilities. The loss to Mexico was due to specific details that we managed to improve in this match, so now we're only thinking about the next phase," said Fernanda Pinilla after the game. She needed medical attention for a head injury caused by a high kick from a Jamaican defender.
Chile will face the formidable United States in the semifinals. Fernanda Pinilla described them as a tough opponent. "We know how they play, but we're focused on continuing to improve, and we're confident because the goals finally came for us," she added.
The semifinal matches, as well as the matches to determine fifth to seventh place, will be played on Tuesday, the 31st, all in the Fifth Region: at 12:00 p.m. local time in Valparaíso, Jamaica will face Bolivia (7th and 8th place definition); at 2:00 p.m in Viña del Mar, Paraguay will compete against Costa Rica (5th and 6th); at 5:00 p.m. at the Estadio Elías Figueroa, Mexico will play the first semi-final against Argentina, and in the prime time slot (8:00 p.m.), at the Estadio Sausalito. "La Roja" will seek the opportunity to go for the gold medal against the United States.
Written by Marcelo López-Diego Mora; translated by Rocio Rojas / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Ph: Manuel Lema
