Cuba and Jamaica have advanced to the CONCACAF Caribbean second preliminary round after finishing first in their respective first round groups. They will be joined by three other teams that will be decided later this month.

Cuba took top spot in Group A, played in San Cristóbal, Dominican Rep. They began their qualifying campaign with a 5-1 win over the host nation, followed by an 11-0 thrashing of Aruba and a 2-2 draw with Puerto Rico. They pipped Puerto Rico to the top by defeating Anguilla 4-0 on the last day. Rachel PELÁEZ and María PÉREZ each scored five of Cuba’s 22 goals.

Across the Hispaniola border, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jamaica edged past the hosts on goal difference. Both Jamaica and Haiti opened the group by coasting to victories against the other two teams, Guadeloupe and Martinique, to set up a decisive showdown on the final day. Haiti opened the scoring through Melchie DUMONAY midway through the first half, and Sherly JEUDY added a second in the 43rd minute. But just seconds later, Trudi CARTER found net for the Reggae Girlz, and a penalty by Khadijah SHAW – her eighth goal in the group – in the 66th levelled the scores. The result was enough to see Jamaica through to the next round.

The Cuban and Jamaican squads, plus the winners of the three other first round groups, will take part in the second preliminary round, to be played SAT 25 AUG-SUN 02 SEP 2018. The top three teams will advance to the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, where three and one half places at France 2019 will be awarded.