The Young Lionesses of England have advanced to the semifinals of a FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup for the first time after besting Japan on penalties. This is the third time in a row that Japan has exited at the quarterfinal stage of a U-17 WWC, after winning the tournament in 2014 and finishing as runner-up in 2016.
England will face Spain in their semifinal, which will be a rematch of the 2024 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship final that was won 4-nil by Spain.
In Sunday’s earlier quarterfinal, Ecuador held Spain scoreless for the first third of the match, but then Pau Comendador netted a straight hat trick and Celia Segura added a stoppage time brace to give the European champions a 5-nil victory.
Match Highlights
Spain 5, Ecuador 0
Spain goals: Pau Comendador (35′, 39′, 46′), Celia Segura (90’+4, 90’+9)
Forward Alba Cerrato was suspended for this match as well.
Additional Links: FIFA Match Page, FIFA Highlights
Japan 2(1), England 2(4) – PSO
Japan goals: Yuna Aoki (23′), Hina Hirakawa (29′)
England goals: Erica Parkinson (27′), Zara Shaw (72′)
Deep into stoppage time, England head coach Natalie Henderson brought in goalkeeper Rebekah Dowsett off the bench as a tactical substitute for the impending penalty shootout. Dowsett stopped two of Japan’s kicks and got her hands on the third. The two saves were off of uninspired kicks that lacked power and were too central.
USA-based forward Lauryn Thompson was not included on the list of England’s available substitutes for this match. She was not suspended for the match as she had not received any cards (Disciplinary Preview for 27-Oct-2024).
Additional Links: FIFA Match Page, FIFA Highlights
Semifinals Schedule
Note: The USA’s semifinal is the same time as the USWNT-Argentina friendly.
Wednesday, October 30th
- 7:00 PM — USA vs. Korea DPR (Match 29) — FS2 / NBC.com
Thursday, October 31st
- 7:00 PM — Spain vs. England (Match 30) — FS2 / Universo / NBC.com
Women's Soccer Express 