This one is for the ladies, that is those amazing women who are participating in the U-17 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica. The group stage has run its course and the excitement will continue tomorrow! Let's start with Group A where the hosts had a dismal three and out performance and Zambia's time in the tournament was only slightly better: a 2-1 victory over the Costa Ricans in the last match the two sides would play in the competition. As for the sides who actually progress into the next round, Venezuela took pole position with three wins and no goals conceded. They also scored 8 goals of their own. Italy meanwhile grabbed second with two wins and a loss to the Venezuelans. On to Group B now where Ghana had a turbulent run to the top of the group as Canada edged North Korea to second position with one victory and two defeats. The Koreans had one of each: a victory, a draw, and a loss. Last of all, and somewhat surprisingly, came the Germans with just a point to their name after striking twice against the Canadians in their group opener and losing the remaining two matches. Hopefully the World Cup in Brazil turns out better for them! In contrast to Group B, Group C was a runaway success for two teams: Japan and Spain who seized first and second places respectively with a total of 25 goals combined. The fortunes were reversed for New Zealand and Paraguay who were only separated by goal difference after drawing 1-1 in the group opener before losing their other two matches. Last but not least, Group D was a straightforward affair: Nigeria were undefeated in three matches while Mexico succumbed in their last game of the group to the Africans. China took third with a solitary win over Colombia, who finished bottom of the barrel with 0 points and a negative goal difference.
Moving into the knock-out stage of the World Cup, the Quarter Finals pose Venezuela against Canada, Japan versus Mexico, Ghana take on Italy, and the Nigerians face the Spanish. So long as the Venezuelans can continue their free-firing nature and hold it together in the back, the Canadians will be hard-pressed to advance to the Semi Finals. Having said that, the North Americans have a fierce defense and proved their attacking discipline in qualifying so expect an explosive encounter. As for the encounter between Asia and South America, that of Japan and Mexico, I anticipate that the Japanese will hope to wrap things up before penalties - their record in that facet of the tournament has not been stellar while the South Americans performed admirably in their qualifying penalty shoot-out showdowns. Both sides are defensively strong, though I would pick the Japanese to break the deadlock. Ghana meanwhile will not be looking forward to facing Italy in the next round. Both teams have tenacious defenses and much will depend on whether the Africans' Jane Ayieyam and Ernestina Abambila can get through the likes of Italy's goalkeeper Francesca Durante and defenders like Lisa Boattin. It won't be easy but I would love to see the Ghanaians do it. And then we have Nigeria-Spain. Africa's other representatives, Nigeria were a surprise package when they arrived in Costa Rica this year having not played a single competitive qualifying game leading up to the tournament. They proceeded to usurp Mexico and deal with China and Colombia to make it this far. Seeing how the Germans fell so abruptly in the group stage, the precedent has certainly been made for the Spaniards to join their German counterparts. I don't see it happening though: Spain has too much in every position and a bench to supplement any injuries or suspensions. Nigeria won't roll over, but Spain will see it through. Enjoy the matches!
No comments:
Post a Comment