Panama vs Jamaica Odds, Pick | Women’s World Cup Preview

Panama vs Jamaica Odds

Saturday, July 29

8:30 a.m. ET

FOX

Panama and Jamaica meet in the second round of matches in the group stage with both teams needing all three points to have any chance at making it to the round of 16.

Brazil beat Panama 4-0 in the opening match, and Panama did not look competent getting forward to cause the Brazilian defense any problems. Panama are one of the longest shots in this tournament and based on the odds for this match, it seems they are destined to go home early. However, they are facing a short-handed Jamaica team, so they may have a chance.

Jamaica got a historic draw with France in their first match to give them a shot to make it to the round of 16. However, it came at a cost as Khaija Shaw, their best player, got a red card in stoppage time. Three points are vital for Jamaica, with their last match being against Brazil. It will be an uphill climb without their main striker.

Panama Lack Talent to Compete With Top Teams

Panama really put in a poor showing against Brazil in their opening match and they deserved to lose 4-0. They got outshot 32-to-6 and only were able to hold 28% possession.

They are one of the youngest teams in this World Cup field with an average age of 24.6 years. Panama have shown an ability to dominate possession throughout qualifying against smaller nations, but some of their friendly results – losing 7-0 to Spain and 5-0 to Japan – suggest that if they are not in possession then they are a well below average side.

Panama typically set up in a 5-4-1, but they use a lot of vertical passes and long balls when they are in possession, which could benefit them here against Jamaica.

They do a decent job of staying compact out of possession, but they really struggle defending in wide areas. Panama do like to come out and try to press, and they are in the 98th percentile for pressing efficiency in this World Cup field.

In terms of talent, most of the squad is playing domestically in Panama, in Mexico or Costa Rica. Riley Tanner is the only woman playing in a big league as she just got drafted to the Washington Spirit after playing her college soccer at Alabama.

Jamaica Facing Questions Without Star Striker

Jamaica did not deserve the draw they got with France in their opening match, as they lost on xG 2.0 to 0.2. They only managed to hold 29% possession and had six shots in the match.

They have a ton of pace and their one or two touch vertical style of play would give Panama some problems if Shaw was eligible to play in this fixture, but she's suspended due to the red card she got against France.

Shaw is everything to the Jamaican attack. They like to push their full backs up the pitch to try and overload wide areas to create a lot of chances via crosses. Without her, I am not sure what Jamaica are going to do.

When Jamaica are out of possession, they don’t like to press and drop into two mid-blocks to try and cut off passing lanes for the opponents.

Jamaica have had some really poor results in the lead up to this World Cup. Last summer they were dominated 5-0 by Italy, 4-1 by Australia and 4-0 by the United States. They did not play difficult competition in the lead up to this World Cup, losing to South Korea and splitting two matches with Paraguay.

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Panama vs Jamaica Pick

This is a very difficult match to handicap because of the absence of Shaw. She is so important for everything Jamaica want to do offensively. So, without her it makes me lean towards Panama even though they have not been very competitive against better teams in the lead up to this tournament.

Jamaica are a pretty poor defensive team that leaves a lot of space in behind, so Panama could be able to give them some problems in transition. Therefore, I like the value on Panama +0.5 at +110.

The Pick: Panama +0.5 (+110 via bet365)