On Sunday, September 8th, the group matches of the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup wrapped up. Only one spot in the Round of Sixteen was in contention as four teams, Japan, Austria, Korea DPR, and the Netherlands, were already assured of advancement into the knockout phase.
The final spot was claimed by Argentina via their 1-nil victory over Costa Rica. With the win, Argentina qualified as the fourth-best third-place team.
This was a disappointing tournament for Costa Rica after a strong performance at last year’s Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championship where they lost to the USA in the semifinals by only 1 goal and took Canada to extra-time in the third-place match.
After two rest days, the Round of Sixteen will get underway on Wednesday, September 11th, and conclude on Thursday, September 12th.
Here are the match highlights and goals summaries for the day’s four matches, plus the standings for Group E and Group F, along with the final standings for all of third-place teams.
Match Highlights
Argentina 1, Costa Rica 0
Argentina goal: Kishi Nunez (18′)
The goal by Nunez was a long-range chip of Costa Rica’s goalkeeper.
Second-half stoppage time had two dramatic moments that could have led to Costa Rica equalizing. First, there was a long free kick that hit the crossbar after brushing the fingers of Argentina’s goalkeeper, Paulina Aprile. Then, a couple minutes later, Aprile, who already had a yellow card, was called for time-wasting inside the penalty area, resulting in an indirect free kick for Costa Rica. A second yellow was not given. The IFK attempt, which was from the outer left corner of the 18-yard box, was botched by Costa Rica, with no attempt on goal. Seconds later, the final whistle was blown.
Argentina’s victory gave them the final third-place slot for the Round of Sixteen, and eliminated Paraguay, along with both potential third-place teams from Group E, New Zealand and Ghana, who played later on Sunday night.
Additional Links: FIFA Match Page, FIFA Highlights
Korea DPR 2, Netherlands 0
Korea DPR goals: Choe Il Son (45’+2), Jong Kum (64′)
Additional Links: FIFA Match Page, FIFA Highlights
Austria 0, Japan 2
Japan goals: Maya Hijikata (38′, 79′)
Additional Links: FIFA Match Page, FIFA Highlights
New Zealand 1, Ghana 3
New Zealand goal: Manaia Ellito (64′)
Ghana goals: Salamatu Abdulai (59′, 72′), Tracey Twum (90’+6)
Due to Argentina’s victory earlier in the day, this was the only ‘meaningless’ group stage match since both teams had no possibility of advancement as one of the better third-place teams.
Additional Links: FIFA Match Page, FIFA Highlights
Group Standings
The top two teams from each group advanced to the Round of Sixteen, along with the four best third-place teams.
Group E
- Japan: 9 points, +12 goal difference, 13 goals scored
- Austria: 6 points, +1 goal difference, 5 goals scored
- Ghana: 3 points, -2 goal difference, 5 goals scored
- New Zealand: 0 points, -9 goal difference, 2 goals scored
Summary:
- Japan advances as the top team in the group.
- Austria advances as the second-place team.
- Ghana, as the fifth-best third-place team, is eliminated.
- New Zealand is eliminated.
Group F
- Korea DPR: 9 points, +15 goal difference, 17 goals scored
- Netherlands: 4 points, 0 goal difference, 5 goals scored
- Argentina: 4 points, -3 goal difference, 6 goals scored
- Costa Rica: 0 points, -12 goal difference, no goals scored
Summary:
- Korea DPR advances as the top team in the group.
- Netherlands advances as the group runner-up.
- Argentina advances as the fourth-best third-place team.
- Costa Rica is eliminated.
Third-Place Standings
Final 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 (Group D)
- Argentina: 4 points, -3 goal difference, 6 goals scored (Group F)
- Ghana: 3 points, -2 goal difference, 5 goals scored (Group E)
- Paraguay: 3 points, -7 goal difference, 2 goals scored (Group C)
Going into Sunday’s matches, Canada, Cameroon, and the Korea Republic were already assured of advancement due to their higher points total relative to Paraguay, who finished on 3 points, and the potential Group E third-place team, which could finish with either 3 points or 1 point.
In Group F, the Netherlands, who could have finished third if they lost to Japan and Argentina won by a large enough margin, were assured advancement based on Saturday’s results.
Of the remaining four potential third-place teams from Group F and Group E, only Argentina controlled their own destiny, as a victory by any margin over Costa Rica would see Argentina through to the knockout stage.
Women's Soccer Express 