On Saturday, September 7th, three more teams secured their spots in the Round of Sixteen at the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Among those teams were the USA, who had a dominant 7-nil victory over Paraguay.
Also, Korea Republic upset Germany 1-nil to earn a slot as one of the best third-place teams, and Nigeria defeated Venezuela 4-nil, which gave the African side a second-place finish in Group D, behind Germany, who had already locked up a spot in the knockout phase.
In Group C, Spain, who were already guaranteed advancement, finished its group stage at maximum points, thanks to its 2-nil victory over Morocco. Meanwhile, the USA claimed second place over Paraguay, who are still mathematically alive as one of third-place teams, but will need favorable results on Sunday.
With the USA’s second place finish in Group C, they will face its Concacaf rival, Mexico, who are the second place team from Group A, on Wednesday, September 11th, at 9:00 p.m. EDT. That match will be shown live on FOX Sports 2.
Here are the match highlights and goals summaries for the day’s four matches, plus the final standings for Group C and Group D, along with the ranking of third-place teams
Match Highlights
Korea Republic 1, Germany 0
Korea Republic goal: Park Soojeong (22′)
Additional Links: FIFA Match Page, FIFA Highlights
Venzeuela 0, Nigeria 4
Nigeria goals: Amina Bello (16′), Chiamaka Okwuchukwu (28′), Flourish Sabastine (45’+5), Joy Igobkwe (90’+4)
Additional Links: FIFA Match Page, FIFA Highlights
USA 7, Paraguay 0
USA goals: Pietra Tordin (10′, 12′, 67′), Gisele Thompson (29′), Yuna McCormack (44′), Ally Sentnor (52′), Maddie Dahlien (83′)
Additional Links: FIFA Match Page, FIFA Highlights
Morocco 0, Spain 2
Spain goals: Nahia Aparicio (5′), Lucia Moral (89′)
Additional Links: FIFA Match Page, FIFA Highlights
Group Standings
The top two teams from each group advance to the Round of Sixteen, along with the four best third-place teams.
Group C
- Spain: 9 points, +5 goal difference, 5 goals scored
- USA: 6 points, +8 goal difference, 9 goals scored
- Paraguay: 3 points, -7 goal difference, 2 goals scored
- Morocco: 0 points, -6 goal difference, no goals scored
Summary:
- Spain advances as the top team in the group.
- The USA advances as the second-place team.
- Paraguay could advance as a third-place team.
- Australia is eliminated.
Group D
- Germany: 6 points, +4 goal difference, 8 goals scored
- Nigeria: 6 points, +3 goal difference, 6 goals scored
- Korea Republic: 4 points, 0 goal difference, 1 goal scored
- Venezuela: 1 point, -3 goal difference, 2 goals scored
Summary:
- Germany advances as the top team in the group.
- Nigeria advances as the second-place team.
- Korea Republic advances as one of the four best third-place teams.
- Venezuela is eliminated.
Third-Place Standings
For the standings of groups that have yet to play their final matches, see “Final Group Match Day Advancement Scenarios”.
Current Standings:
- Canada: 4 points, +7 goal difference, 12 goals scored (Group B)
- Cameroon: 4 points, +1 goal difference, 4 goals scored (Group A)
- Korea Republic: 4 points, 0 goal difference, 1 goal scored
- Paraguay: 3 points, -7 goal difference, 2 goals scored
Canada, Cameroon, and the Korea Republic are guaranteed to be in the top four, as the potential Group E third-place team will have 3 points or less.
Paraguay is not officially eliminated, but will need favorable results on the final day of group play:
- In Group F, which plays first, if Argentina defeats Costa Rica, both Argentina and the group’s other potential third-place team (under this scenario) would have at least 4 points. Thus, Paraguay will be eliminated, along with both potential third-place teams from Group E.
- if the Group F match between Argentina and Costa Rica ends in a draw, and in Group E, if the match between Ghana and New Zealand also ends in a draw, then Paraguay will advance. (The Group F third-place team, Argentina would be on 2 points, while the Group E third-place team, Ghana, would be on 1 point.)
- If Costa Rica defeats Argentina and surpasses Paraguay on tie-breakers (namely goal difference), then Paraguay will be eliminated, regardless of the later Group E results.
On Sunday, if Costa Rica defeats Argentina and surpasses Paraguay on tie-breakers, Costa Rica would advance if the Group E match between Ghana and New Zealand ends in a draw.
Women's Soccer Express 