Action continued in the 2012 Under-20 Women’s World Cup on Monday, with favorites United States and Germany both posting 4:0 wins, while Canada cruised and then coasted over Argentina and North Korea defeated Norway. With the USA’s and Germany’s equivalent wins, the two teams are even in the Group D table. Continue reading “U-20 WWC: Match Day 2 – USA and Germany Tied Atop Group D, Canada With An Easy Win”
Category: General Soccer
U-20 WWC: Quick Thoughts on the USA’s 4:0 Win Over Ghana
The United States Under-20 Women’s National Team got off to a good start on Monday, with a 4:0 defeat of Ghana in the team’s opening match of group play, via an own goal on a corner kick and a Maya Hayes hat trick. The 3 points and +4 goal differential provides a solid foundation as the team looks to advance out of a tough Group D that also includes tournament favorite Germany. Continue reading “U-20 WWC: Quick Thoughts on the USA’s 4:0 Win Over Ghana”
U-20 WWC: Match Day 1 – Japan Cruises, New Zealand Wins, Italy and Brazil Tie
On Sunday, the 2012 edition of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup kicked off. In Group A, host Japan ended up with a dominant victory over Mexico, while New Zealand’s quality helped itself earn a win against Switzerland. Over in Group B, Nigeria finds itself alone atop the group after defeating South Korea, due to Brazil and Italy drawing in their earlier match. Continue reading “U-20 WWC: Match Day 1 – Japan Cruises, New Zealand Wins, Italy and Brazil Tie”
Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Preview Notes (Overview)
What do Lindsay Tarpley, Simone Laudehr, Jo Yun Mi, Alex Morgan, and Alexandra Popp have in common? Each of those players scored a game-winner in the final of an Under-20 or Under-19 Women’s World Cup.
What about Christine Sinclair, Marta, Sydney Leroux, and Popp? — Each of those players was named the tournament MVP of an Under-20 or Under-19 Women’s World Cup.
Yes, before Tarpley, Laudehr, Jo, Morgan, Popp, Sinclair, Marta, and Leroux were standouts on the senior international stage, they made their mark in this tournament. Continue reading “Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Preview Notes (Overview)”
2012 Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Group A – Preview Notes (Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Switzerland)
In this year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup, host Japan lucked out with a relatively easy draw in Group A. Two of their opponents, New Zealand and Switzerland, have yet to advance out of the group stage, while Mexico has only made it to the knock-out stage once: In 2010, partially at the expense of Japan.
As far as which teams should make it out of the group, only host Japan is an automatic pick. The second slot is a toss-up, although Mexico seems the most likely other team to get out of the group. New Zealand also has a chance, while Switzerland appears to be the long-shot. Continue reading “2012 Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Group A – Preview Notes (Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Switzerland)”
2012 Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Group B – Preview Notes (Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, South Korea)
Of the four groups in this year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup, Group B is the biggest toss-up. Brazil, on paper, should dominate, but their usual lack of preparation may mean a repeat of 2010, when the South American champions failed to advance out of their group. 2010 Runners-Up Nigeria and Italy, who return to this tournament for the first time since 2004, are the other main contenders in this group. But the wild card is South Korea, who only qualified for this tournament after Uzbekistan was unable to host the tournament. Two years ago, the Koreans won the U-17 Women’s World Cup on penalties over Japan and finished third at the U-20 Women’s World Cup. Continue reading “2012 Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Group B – Preview Notes (Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, South Korea)”
2012 Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Group C – Preview Notes (Argentina, Canada, North Korea, Norway)
In this year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup, Canada got a manageable grouping as their only tough opponent in Group C is North Korea. The least challenging team should be Argentina, who have never made it out of the group stage in its two prior U-20 Women’s World Cups, or in any senior FIFA tournaments. Norway will not be an easy opponent, but Canada should be up to the challenge. Continue reading “2012 Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Group C – Preview Notes (Argentina, Canada, North Korea, Norway)”
Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Group D – Preview Notes (USA, Ghana, China, Germany)
The United States and Germany both got a challenging draw in this year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup, as the two favorites find themselves in the same group for the first time in any FIFA women’s tournament. The USA finds itself opening this tournament against Ghana for the second time in a row. Ghana got a surprising 1:1 draw with the USA last time around. The final Group D opponent is China, whom the USA played twice earlier this year, winning both friendlies.
Continue reading “Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Group D – Preview Notes (USA, Ghana, China, Germany)”
Under-20 Women’s World Cup: TV and Online Information for the USA, Canada, and More
The Under-20 Women’s World Cup is just around the corner. The first match kicks-off Sunday, August 19th, at 2:00 a.m. EDT when Brazil clashes with Italy. Host Japan’s first match, versus Mexico, is actually the last one on Sunday, with a start time of 6:20 a.m. EDT. On Monday, the USA and Canada play their first matches, against Ghana (3:00 a.m. EDT) and Argentina (6:00 a.m.), respectively. (Full Schedule on FIFA.com)
The following is a quick summary of the TV and online options for those in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Official Rosters Released, Notes on the USA’s Opponents
On Friday, FIFA released the rosters for all sixteen teams competing in the Under-20 Women’s World Cup. That list is available in PDF format, while individual team rosters can also be viewed on FIFA.com’s micro-site for the tournament.
Only one of the United States’ group opponents, Germany, had already announced their roster in late July (and subsequently made two changes due to injury). With the official release of rosters, the squads for Ghana, whom the USA open against, and China, the USA’s middle group opponent, are now available. The rest of this post is mostly statistical notes about the USA’s and its opponent rosters. Continue reading “Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Official Rosters Released, Notes on the USA’s Opponents”
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