'Unfair pairing' - Donaldson cries foul about World Cup Qualifying set-up

Lorne Donaldson, assistant coach of Jamaica senior women's football team, called on the regional governing body, CONCACAF, to find a way to ensure that the two top countries are not in the same group, as was the case with Jamaica and Haiti.

Both teams played to an exciting and competitive 2-2 draw in the CONCACAF Caribbean World Cup Qualifiers (CCWCQ) Group B decider at the Stade Sylvio Cator in Haiti on Sunday, and finished on seven points apiece. However, Jamaica qualified ahead of Haiti on a better goal difference. Jamaica captured one of five spots in the next stage of the tournament set for August 25 to September 2.

"I want to say that I can't see why the two best teams (in the Caribbean) end up in the same group. I am still trying to understand how they set the two best teams in the same group," Donaldson told STAR Sports, yesterday.

"Jamaica and Haiti are the two best teams in the Caribbean women's football and it was not fair for them to be in the same group at this stage. They would never do that on the other continents. You would never see France and Germany in the same group, or Brazil and Argentina in the same group. We have to get that sorted out somewhere down the line," he said.

After the Caribbean stage of qualifiers, the top three countries will represent the region against Canada, Mexico, the United States of America and two teams from Central America. A total of eight nations will participate in the CONCACAF tournament from October 4 to 17 in the USA.

The top three teams will qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup in France in 2019. Meanwhile, the fourth-place team will advance to a play-off against the third-place team from CONMEBOL.