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U-20 Women's World Cup Day Four Wrap

After an off day Thursday, day four in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup offered up the second round of fixtures for Group A and Group B.  With it came the first eliminated teams of the tournament as well as the first teams to clinch a spot in the final eight of the knockout stage.  Hosts Germany and contenders North Korea have clinched two of the final eight spots, while Costa Rica and New Zealand are officially eliminated from advancing to the next stage.

Germany defeated Columbia 3-1 behind goals from Alexandra Popp in the 21st minute and two quick second half goals from Sylvia Arnold in the 50th minute and Marina Hegering in th 55th minute.  Columbia would get a consolation goal from Melissa Ortiz in the 81st minute, but Germany improved to 2-0-0 while Columbia is 0-1-1 and in danger of not advancing.

FINAL: Germany 3-1 Columbia

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Quotables:

Ricardo Rozo, Colombia coach
Germany controlled the match and looked very strong, particularly in the air. We tried to keep the ball on the deck, but we were poor in the first half before improving in the second. We paid a heavy price for the mistakes we made. Now we have to win against Costa Rica and hope that Germany beat France, but the most important thing is that we concentrate on our own game.

Maren Meinert, Germany coach
We’re happy because we’ve reached the quarters without any hiccups. Two matches, two victories. That was our goal. In the first half we had some serious movement problems in the final third. The second half was an improvement, but I’m not completely satisfied. Our aim is to win the group so that we can remain in Bochum. We do want to get to Bielefeld, but preferably a bit later in the competition.

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Elsewhere in Group A, France (1-1-0, 4 pts.) topped Costa Rica (0-2-0, 0 pts.) 2-0 thanks to two goals from Marina Makanza in the 67th minute and 83rd minute.

FINAL: France 2-0 Costa Rica

Quotables:

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Jean-Michel Degrange, France coach
It was a difficult match for us because we were really struggling with the heat. I think both teams were at a pretty similar level and I’d like to compliment Costa Rica because they played well and put up a real fight. My team defended well, and the missed penalty proved a real turning point. It was a really good save from our goalkeeper. I also think bringing on Marina Makanza made a big difference. We’ve taken an important step towards the quarter-finals.

Randall Chacon, Costa Rica coach
It’s always hard to find the right words after matches like that. We’re very disappointed because we didn’t get the result we were hoping for. It’s very sombre in the dressing room at the moment. We controlled the game and really believed that we could win it, but France made the most of our mistakes. We had several chances to score but we didn’t take them. Still, it was a decent performance. Congratulations to France, they still have a chance of reaching the quarters.

Highlights

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In Group B, a 53rd minute penalty kick from Rafaelle salvaged a point for Brazil and kept the team’s tournament hopes alive.  Antonia Goransson’s goal in the 36th minute threatened to end Brazil’s tournament hopes and the South Americans are still in danger of not making it out of the group.  Brazil (0-0-1, 1 pt.) sits behind North Korea (2-0-0, 6 pts.) and Sweden (1-0-1, 4 pts.) in Group B.

FINAL: Brazil 1-1 Sweden

Quotables:

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Calle Barrling, Sweden coach
I think we saw a fairly evenly-matched game. I counted four chances for each team. The Brazilians had more of the ball, but that’s to be expected. They made some clever substiutions – we didn’t recognize those players so we were caught by surprise somewhat. Brazil are very dangerous from set pieces, particularly throw-ins.

Marco Gaspar, Brazil coach
Brazil had more of the game and in my view the better chances as well. Sweden’s goal came as a result of an individual error which they punished severely. I’m sure the Swedes will be happier with the result than we are, but I’m fairly satisfied. We played attacking football and we’ll be working hard to make sure we win our final group game.

Rafaelle, Brazil goalscorer
Obviously we’re not happy with the result and now we need to make sure we win our final group match. We’re going to need to do our homework and hope the other teams can do us a favour as well.

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Antonia Goransson, Sweden goalscorer
I don’t usually play up front so I was quite surprised that the coach played me there. Not many balls were played forward, but you have to make the most of the chances you do get.

Highlights

And finally, North Korea topped New Zealand 2-1 Friday to stay atop Group B.  Yun Hyon Hi scored in the 12th minute for North Korea and Kim Un Hyan finished a penalty in the 65th minute to double the team’s lead.  Bridgette Armstrong made it interesting with a 90th minute goal for New Zealand, but the North Korean’s would prevail.

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FINAL: North Korea 2-1 New Zealand

Quotables:

Tony Readings, New Zealand coach
We knew ahead of the match that we needed at least a point. Three would have been even better. I’m very proud of the team, they all gave 100 per cent. I think a point would have been a fair result in the end, but unfortunately you don’t always get what you deserve in football. Korea DPR are a very strong side and we’ve learned plenty from this match. I wish the Koreans all the best for the rest of the tournament. They have the quality to reach the final.

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Choe Kwang Sok, Korea DPR coach
I thank the New Zealand coach for his kind wishes. It was a very difficult game for us today. We were contending with a very strong, physical team. We’re delighted to have reached the next round.

Yun Hyon Hi, Korea DPR goalscorer
We knew before the game that if we won, we’d be in the quarter-finals. It was a great moment for me personally to score the opening goal. We’re going to keep working hard to get as far as we can in this competition and we’re confident that we can get beyond the quarter-finals.

Goal of the Day: Both of French forward Marina Makanza’s goals were very impressive.  See highlights above.

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Bonehead Move of the Day: Another co-award – 1) Swedish goalkeeper Hilda Carlen blatently shoving Brazilian attacker Alanna to concede the equalizing penalty. 2) French defender Caroline La Villa’s back pass that went straight to Costa Rica’s Ana Aguilar.  Raquel Rodriguez Vasquez then got on the ball and French goalkeeper Laetitia Philippe plowed through her to give up a penalty, which would be saved.

Attendance:

Germany-Columbia: 15,545
Costa Rica-France: 15,545
Brazil-Sweden: 6,630
North Korea-New Zealand: 6,630

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Average Attendance through 12 games: 10,627

Take those attendance figures with a grain of salt, though, as the numbers were clearly just counted twice as part of the doubleheaders.

Standings:

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Group A
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Germany Germany 2 2 0 0 7 3 6
France France 2 1 1 0 3 1 4
Colombia Colombia 2 0 1 1 2 4 1
Costa Rica Costa Rica 2 0 0 2 2 6 0
Group B
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Korea DPR Korea DPR 2 2 0 0 3 1 6
Sweden Sweden 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
Brazil Brazil 2 0 1 1 1 2 1
New Zealand New Zealand 2 0 0 2 2 4 0
Group C
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Japan Japan 1 0 1 0 3 3 1
Mexico Mexico 1 0 1 0 3 3 1
England England 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Nigeria Nigeria 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Group D
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Korea Republic Korea Republic 1 1 0 0 4 0 3
USA USA 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Ghana Ghana 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Switzerland Switzerland 1 0 0 1 0 4 0
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