Today was the sixth day of matches for the U20 Women’s World Cup in Canada.
Group D – Paraguay 0 – 3 France (Edmonton)
France closed out their group play with a 3-0 victory over Paraguay to advance to the knockout stages undefeated in the tournament. With very little to lose, France played an almost entirely different lineup than in the previous two matches, which only showed the depth and quality of France’s team.
It only took five minutes for the first goal to come as Paraguay’s Rosalia Godoy handled the ball in the box and France was awarded a penalty. Faustine Robert, who scored in France’s opening match, but started on the bench against New Zealand, took the penalty. Robert’s shot was a low, hard driven ball to the left. Paraguay’s goalkeeper, Cristina Recalde, guessed correctly and got a piece of the ball but it was not enough to stop in from going in giving France an early 1-0 lead.
The second goal of the match would come a mere two minutes later as a goalkeeper error proved costly. A header off a free kick was initially saved by Recalde, however she was unable to cleanly field the rebound, allowing Robert to score her second of the night and double France’s lead in only the seventh minute.
As in their first two group matches, France dominated the match from start to finish. Credit must be given to Paraguay’s Recalde who kept the match to two goals for the majority. Despite the fumble that created the second goal, Recalde faced an onslaught of attempts on goal and made some amazing saves in an attempt to keep things close. While France did not have any issues putting shots on target, Paraguay managed only three shots on goal the entire match.
Despite France’s consistent pressure on the Paraguay defense, there were several missed opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net, including a wide open header in the second half. France would score one more time though when, once again, Claire Lavogez came on and worked some magic. Lavogez sent a beautiful through ball to a wide open Mylaine Tarrieu who was able to add to France’s lead, 3-0 in the 77th minute.
As the group winners, France will play the Group C runner up Korea Republic on Sunday at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
Group D – Costa Rica 0 – 3 New Zealand (Toronto)
New Zealand advanced to their first ever U20 Women’s World Cup knockout stages with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica at National Soccer Stadium in Toronto. In addition to this being the first time advancing to the knockout stages, it was the first time the two teams had ever met in any FIFA women’s competition.
The first half of the match consisted of New Zealand putting tremendous pressure on Costa Rica. In the early stages of the match, Costa Rica had already weathered through several New Zealand set pieces and shots on goal. Despite the heavy pressure, Costa Rica did well to thwart the offensive efforts of New Zealand.
The first goal of the game came in the 24th minute as New Zealand managed to capitalize on yet another set piece. Katie Bowen took a deep free kick that managed to glance off the back of Steph Skilton’s head and past Costa Rica goalkeeper Noelia Bermudez who was not able to react in time to to the change of direction the header provided. New Zealand would take a 1-0 lead which they kept going into the second half.
Though they only had one shot the entire first half, Costa Rica came out on the offensive at the start of the second, creating several opportunities to level the score.Their best chance, perhaps, was a header off a corner kick which caused New Zealand goalkeeper Lily Alfeld to make a fantastic save. Costa Rica introduced some substitutions hoping to spark the offense and produce goals, but were unable to convert on any of the chances they created.
New Zealand had several missed opportunities in the second half as well and it wasn’t until the 69th minute that they were able to add to their lead. A failed clearance attempt by Costa Rica gave Megan Lee a clear breakaway at the goal. Lee was able to get around a diving Bermudez and shoot through returning defenders to give New Zealand a 2-0 lead. New Zealand’s final goal came in stoppage time when Bermudez failed to cleanly punch away a corner kick and Tayla O’Brien was able to get a piece of it to put it in the net.
New Zealand will play Group C winners Nigeria in their quarterfinals matchup at Moncton Stadium on Sunday.
Group C – Korea Republic 2 – 1 Mexico (Edmonton)
Korea Republic entered the final match-day of group action with a lone point to show for their two previous efforts and occupying last place in Group C. They would need a win against Mexico along with a win by Nigeria against England to advance.
Mexico entered the match tied for second with England with two points after two draws. For El Tri, a win would mean advancing.
Mexico commanded the early stages. Fabiola Ibarra, who scored against Nigeria, sent in a rocket from distance for El Tri. However, Korea Republic’s Min Yukyeong made the save to keep things even at nil as the first half progressed.
It looked like both sides would march into the half without a goal when the Koreans began to create chances. Korea’s Lee Geummin gained possession of a poor clearance by Mexico. Her shot from eight yards out, however, went wide. Moment’s later, Geummin got another chance, receiving a long distance pass inside the Mexican penalty area. One on one with the Mexican keeper, Geummin shot on target and beyond the reach of Cecelia Santiago to give Korea Republic a 1-0 lead.
With the Mexican side desperate for an equalizer and the Koreans desperate to cling on to their lead, the second half was stingy with chances. Then, in the 65th minute, Mexico’s Clarissa Robles was called for a foul inside the area against Geummin. The referee pointed to the spot and Lee Sodam, who scored a penalty against England, stepped up to the spot. Sodam struck. Santiago guessed correctly but couldn’t get to it as Korea Republic doubled its lead to 2-0.
Mexico never relented. In the 74th minute, Tanya Samarzich, who scored a goal for Mexico against England, took advantage of a poorly played ball by Sodam and struck the ball in to pull El Tri within one.
Mexico fought as time rolled on, forcing Korean keeper Min Yukyeong to make saves and keeping the Korean defense on their toes. But Korea Republic held strong and when the final whistle blew, Korea Republic was Montreal bound to face France, the Group D winners.
Group C – Nigeria 2 – 1 England (Toronto)
England and Nigeria entered their match in Edmonton with fate in their own hands. A win would send either side on to the quarterfinals—a destination the Nigerian U20s have arrived at the past four tournaments.
England got things going with a goal in the fifth minute when Hannah Blundell passed a through ball to Nikita Parris who drilled it in past Nigerian keeper Ibijoke Sangonuga to give the Three Lionesses a 1-0 lead.
With halftime approaching, Nigeria’s Loveth Ayila, with the ball at her feet, danced away from her opponent and struck in a rocket from 25 yards out to equalize for the Falconettes.
The match then came down to penalties—taken in the second half.
Referee Qin Liang called one against Ibijoke Sangonuga when the Nigerian keeper raced to get to the ball before England’s Nikita Parris. Both players collided as they got to the ball but the referee pointed to the spot. England’s Bethany Mead, who scored a goal against Mexico, sent the shot over the net. The match remained tied.
Minutes later Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala was fouled after stealing the ball and dribbling it inside the Mexican penalty area. Oshoala took the penalty herself, coolly directly the ball to the low right-hand corner to give her nation a 2-1 lead.
The Nigerians held strong and England came up short. For Nigeria, the win puts them up at the top of Group C and sends them on their fifth consecutive trip to the quarter-finals where they will play Group D runner-up New Zealand on Sunday in Moncton.
(Feature photo courtesy of FIFA.)
