GRENOBLE, France — After an incredible journey that saw them defying the odds to achieve what many thought was impossible, Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz are now set to live in the moment of playing on the biggest stage of all.

Their male counterparts graced this stage in this same European country some 21 years ago, but today the Reggae Girlz take centre stage when they make their historic bow in the Fifa Women’s World Cup.

The Reggae versus Samba clash with Brazil at Stade des Alpes in Grenoble is scheduled for 3:30 pm (8:30 am Jamaica time).

As the first Caribbean nation to qualify for a Women’s World Cup, the Reggae Girlz want to change the perception of the women’s game in a nation that traditionally hasn’t valued it, and a win against top-ranked Brazil would all but lay the foundation.

Things are looking up for the Jamaicans heading into the game, as they have been holding good form, registering six wins from the last 10 games, while the Brazilians have lost their last six.

And even with the South Americans being without their experienced and highly rated captain Marta due to injury, Jamaica’s Head coach Hue Menzies is not grandstanding against their illustrious opponents.

“They will find another Marta in there because that is just motivation for another player… obviously Marta is an unbelievable player, but we don’t expect anything different as we expect Brazil to be Brazil. So we expect whoever they put in the line-up to be ready to go,” Menzies told the Jamaica Observer.

“Obviously we are an inexperienced team and Brazil is an experienced team, but the one thing that people don’t realise is that they have not won a game so far, which is scary for us because they are going to come out trying to get a result.

“So we are prepared for them coming at us and pressing us early and you know our biggest asset is our athleticism, how we counter on Brazil and their eagerness to attack — and that is what is going to be the biggest issue for them with us. For us it’s just the experience component and the fear of them trying to get a result,” he added.

Though possessing the youngest squad in the World Cup, with the oldest player being 29 and the youngest 17, Menzies and his 53rd-ranked team is not daunted by the challenge of facing highly-ranked Brazil.

“We understand that age is just being on paper. We got girls here that have been through things in life that adults haven’t been through, so we are talking about the experience and dealing with adversities — and I think the game is another adversity that they can handle. So, age is just a number.

“We don’t expect to be going on the field and having fear. We respect Brazil but we don’t fear them, and we are going to focus on our game plan and we are going to just go at it to get a result,” Menzies declared.

Despite being one of the youngest captains at the global showpiece, Konya Plummer at 22 years old is ready to ably lead her charges to a positive result.

“Size or age doesn’t matter to me, and whatever the ranking is, as coach said, we don’t fear nobody. As Jamaicans we are ‘likkle but we tallawah’ and… we are just looking to go out there and compete the best that we can.

“Throughout this campaign I learnt that dreams do come true, and if you work hard as a team… and the chemistry that you have in the camp really does matter,” Plummer noted.

Meanwhile, Menzies and his assistants Lorne Donaldson and Andrew Price are yet to confirm their starting team, but by all indication, it seems they will be sticking with the usual 4-3-3 formation and the team that started their final warm-up against Scotland in United Kingdom recently.

That would mean Sydney Schneider in goal, shadowed by Plummer, Allyson Swaby, Dominique Bond-Flasza and Deneisha Blackwood.

Marlon Sweatman, Havana Solaun and Chantelle Swaby would be assigned midfield duties, while the highly lethal Khadija “Bunny” Shaw would be flanked by Cheyna Matthews and Trudi Carter on the right and left wings, respectively.

Following this opener, the Reggae Girlz will then face number sixth-ranked Australia and number 15th-ranked Italy in Group C on June 14 and 18, respectively