Jamaica ensured there would be no fairytale ending to Marta's World Cup career as they held Brazil to a 0-0 draw to reach the last 16 on Wednesday and condemn the South Americans to their earliest exit since 1995.
It was heartbreak for the legendary Brazilian attacker Marta, who at age 37 has said this would be her sixth but last World Cup. She was in tears at the end.
But it was joy in Melbourne for a Jamaica team who are yet to concede at the tournament and are into the knockout rounds for the first time in their history.
Lorne Donaldson's unbeaten side, who have defied rows with their federation to get this far, will most likely meet Colombia next after finishing second in the group behind France.
"This is one of the best days I've ever had in my life," Donaldson said.
"To see a country like Jamaica be able to do this, it's unbelievable. The girls are doing it for the country, the country should be proud.
"We had resilience, fight. We are going into a war and we need to be ready," he added.
"And it was a war, and we stayed in the battle."
Brazil had to win to be sure of going through, whereas Jamaica needed only to draw. So it was little surprise that it was the South Americans who had the better of an attritional contest.
In front of a crowd of nearly 28,000, Brazil had much more of the ball and attempts at goal - Jamaica had none on target all game to Brazil's five.
But for all that and with Marta starting, Jamaica were never really in serious trouble at any point in the game.
Meanwhile, Kadidiatou Diani scored a hat trick as France advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 6-3 win over Panama.
The world's No5-ranked team recovered from the shock of going behind to Marta Cox’s 30-yard free kick after two minutes at Sydney Football Stadium to finish atop Group F.
France, who had also been held to a 0-0 draw against Jamaica in their opening game, advanced after back-to-back wins against Brazil and Panama.
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
COMPANY PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
