Nigeria 1-0 Korea Republic
Group D | Estadio El Techo, Bogota
Goal: Flourish Sabastine (86) Player of the Match: Philomina Yina (Nigeria)
Did she or didn’t she? Only Flourish Sabastine knows the answer, but her cross or shot grabbed Nigeria the answer they sought. It was probably the result the Falconets deserved. Sixteen-year-old Lucky Nkpa flickered her brilliance in the first half, and the Africans dominated the second. The Korean Republic had its moments. Kim Shinji rattled the crossbar, while Cho Hyeyoung was a repeat torment to Nigeria. The Koreans must now regroup and attempt to kick-start their campaign against Venezuela on Wednesday.
What they said…
“It was a tough match, being the first match. The victory is sweet because it puts your foot in the group. My team performed well, but I know we’re going to perform much, much, much, better than this”. Christopher Danjuma, Nigeria’s head coach.
Germany grabs five, Acosta arrives and Spain survive
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Germany pummel Venezuela in Bogota
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Spain sees off USA in sweltering Cali heat
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Acosta stars as Paraguay down debutants Morocco
The opening day of Group C action at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ featured three nations who gathered seven of the ten titles contested in the tournament’s history and they put on a show in the cities of Bogota and Cali.
Germany dazzled in the capital as they plundered five in a hefty win over Venezuela as Spain was forced to work hard in baking conditions over in Cali, as they saw off USA 1-0 to start their title defense positively.
Fatima Acosta marked herself as a star of the future – if not the present – by scoring both goals as Paraguay eased past Morocco while Nigeria left it late in a narrow win over the Korean Republic.
Next at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup
Groups E & F | Monday 2 September
Ghana v Austria (Group E) | Estadio El Techo, Bogota Japan v New Zealand (Group E) | Estadio El Techo, Bogota Korea DPR v Argentina (Group F) | Estadio Pascual Guerrero, Cali Costa Rica v Netherlands (Group F) | Estadio Pascual Guerrero, Cali
Spain 1-0 USA
Group C | Pascual Guerrero, Cali
Goals: Olaya Enrique (8) Player of the Match: Maite Zubieta (Spain)
In front of a large crowd of mostly curious neutrals on a baking Sunday afternoon, Spain started their title defense with a 1-0 win over the USA as Group C action got underway at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™.
With the mercury pushing 30 degrees in the southwest Colombian city of Cali, it took Spain’s pass-and-move masters just eight minutes to unpick USA as they wove a tapestry that ended with Lucia Corrales releasing Olaya Enrique to fire past Teagan Wy for a DNA dripping opener.
Wy rescued her nation twice in the second half as the USA had a late penalty overturned on review in a lively opener.
What they said…
“This was a crucial match and it’s a good feeling for the team to start with a win. In each match we play we want to maintain our identity, keep the ball, and focus on getting better day by day.” Julia Bartel, Spain midfielder
Paraguay 2-0 Morocco
Group C | Pascual Guerrero, Cali
Goals: Fatima Acosta(37, 57) Player of the Match: Fatima Acosta (Paraguay)
In a performance that earned her comparisons to Linda Caicedo, 19-year-old Fatima Acosta grabbed both goals in a 2-0 win that sent Paraguay joint-top of the section.
The dynamic forward took advantage of a mix-up at the back from debutants Morocco to send Paraguay to the break a goal to the good before she calmly slotted home a second from the spot just shy of the hour to wrap up what was just a second victory for her nation at a U-20 Women’s World Cup.
What they said…
“We know the quality that the other nations in the group [Spain and USA] possess so it was important to start on the right foot and now we can enjoy this win and then prepare for the next game.” Fatima Acosta, Paraguay forward
Germany 5-2 Venezuela
Group D | Estadio El Techo, Bogota
Goals: Marie Steiner (15), Loreen Bender (38), Sophie Nachtigall (44), Loreen Bender (45+6), Cora Zicai (56); Rebecca Adamczyk OG (43), Floriangel Apostol (90+6) Player of the Match: Sofie Zdebel (Germany)
Kathrin Peter’s girls and the crowd were big winners in a seven-goal Bogota thriller. Floriangel Apostol was unfortunate to end up on the losing side. The Deportivo La Coruna gem’s glorious free-kick forced an own-goal, and she got her name on the score sheet with a late arrow into the bottom corner. The contest nevertheless belonged to Germany. Loreen Bender, Sophie Nachtigall, Sofie Zdebel, and Cora Zicai were all outstanding as the Europeans laid down a marker of their title intentions.
What they said…
“It’s important to start the tournament like this, with three points and rewarding ourselves with five goals. Venezuela was a good opponent, but difficult in the one-on-ones. It was a good start that we can now build on and work on the things that maybe haven’t gone so well yet. Jella Veit, German defender
Credit: FIFA.COM
