Tag: Mexico U20 WNT

U-20 Neighbor Watch: Mexico Announces Squad For 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship

While Mexico’s squad for this year’s CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship is younger, on average, then the United States’ roster, they are not inexperienced.  Nine players from the team that finished second at the 2018 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup are on this roster, including Canadian-born Silvana Flores, who plays for Arsenal FC’s Under-21 team.

In addition, the coach of that history-making squad, retired Mexican international Mónica Vergara, now leads this team.  Vergara, who was Mexico’s youngest player at the 1999 Women’s World Cup, was also a member of Mexico’s squad at the 2004 Olympics and their Under-19 team at the 2002 FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship.

With Mexico is in Group D and the United States in Group C, a potential knockout round match-up could not happen until… the final. Continue reading “U-20 Neighbor Watch: Mexico Announces Squad For 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship”

CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Costa Rica and Panama Out, Bermuda and Barbados In

Oh, and there’s a schedule change, too.

So, it seems that CONCACAF has quietly pushed back the start of this year’s CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship a week, so that the tournament now starts on February 22nd, instead of February 15th.

That detail went unhighlighted in a January 13th article posted on CONCACAF.com, titled “Concacaf Announces Changes to the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship,” which confirmed that the co-hosts of this year’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, Costa Rica and Panama, would both have automatic bids, and, alas, that only two at-large qualifications slots would be available for the rest of CONCACAF. Continue reading “CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Costa Rica and Panama Out, Bermuda and Barbados In”

2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Host, Dates, and Knock-Out Bracket Confirmed

See CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Costa Rica and Panama Out, Bermuda and Barbados In for current schedule and bracket details.

Update (31-Jan-2020):  THIS ARTICLE IS NO LONGER CURRENT FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:  

  • THE DATES FOR THIS TOURNAMENT HAVE BEEN CHANGED.  (They are now February 22nd to March 8th).
  • COSTA RICA AND PANAMA ARE NOT PARTICIPATING IN THIS TOURNAMENT.  THEIR GROUPS AND THE KNOCK-OUT BRACKET HAVE BEEN ALTERED.

Update (20-Dec-2019):  FIFA has confirmed that Costa Rica and Panama will be joint hosts for this cycle’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, which will be held in August 2020 (FIFA.com). Not yet confirmed is how this will affect qualifying in CONCACAF.  Absent exceptional circumstances, the most likely result is that the number of open qualification slots will be reduced to 2, as Costa Rica and Panama will be given the host slot plus 1 slot from CONCACAF’s allocation.  Another uncertain wrinkle is whether Costa Rica and Panama will be participating in this CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, as they are currently assigned to Group D (with Mexico) and Group F (with Haiti), respectively.  Given the timing of this announcement, right before the end-of-the-year holiday break, it is possible that these qualifying matters may not be resolved until January 2020.

On Tuesday, CONCACAF confirmed that the Dominican Republic will be hosting the confederation’s final qualifying tournament for next year’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. (CONCACAF.com)  As things currently stand, CONCACAF has three open qualifying slots, though that could change depending on who actually ends up hosting the U-20 WWC in 2020.

The qualifying tournament, which is officially known as the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, is scheduled for February 15, 2020 to March 1, 2020, and in a departure from past tournaments, will feature twenty teams instead of the usual eight.  The tournament will have a Group Stage involving the top sixteen U-20 women’s national teams, based on historical rankings (CONCACAF.com).  Those sixteen teams will be divided into four standard round-robin groups of four.  The top three teams in each group will advance to the knock-out stage.

The knock-out stage will start with a Round of Sixteen that includes the twelve advancing teams from the Group Stage, plus four teams from a preliminary qualifying stage for teams outside the top sixteen.  (Wikipedia has a decent summary article on the preliminary qualifying stage.)  After the Round of Sixteen, the knockout round will proceed normally, with a Final to determine the champion and a Third Place match.
Continue reading “2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Host, Dates, and Knock-Out Bracket Confirmed”

Mexico: Roster For 2012 City of São Paulo Tournament Includes Sofia Huerta and Two Under-17 Players

Mexico’s head coach, Leonardo Cuellar, has called up 21 players for the upcoming City of São Paulo International Tournament (Torneio Internacional Cidade de São Paulo), including a first-time invite for Under-20 standout forward Sofia Huerta of Santa Clara University, which caps off a whirlwind year for Huerta.  Of the 21 players called up, besides Huerta, five other currently attend American universities: Renae Cuellar, Oklahoma; Alina Garciamendez, Stanford; Anisa Gujardo, Pepperdine; Arianna Romero, Nebraska; and Bianca Sierra, Auburn. From Mexico’s U-17 Women’s National Team, two players have been invited into the senior camp: captain Karla Nieto, and midfielder Paulina Solis, who is only 16 years-old (1996 birthday). Also among the twenty one is 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy winner Teresa Noyola. Continue reading “Mexico: Roster For 2012 City of São Paulo Tournament Includes Sofia Huerta and Two Under-17 Players”

U-20 WWC: Quarterfinals Round-Up – Nigeria, Japan, Germany, and the USA Advance

The quarterfinals matches for the 2012 Under-20 Women’s World Cup were a mix of the predictable and the dramatic.

On the predictable side, Germany rather easily defeated Norway 3:0. The match between Japan and South Korea was more a mix of predictable and dramatic, with South Korea getting an early equalizer before Japan re-took the lead for good.

The other two quarterfinals, Mexico vs. Nigeria, and United States vs. North Korea, were each a bit more dramatic, as both went to extra time. Against Mexico, Nigeria needed a stoppage time goal to seal victory. Meanwhile, the United States took a 1:0 lead over North Korea off a strike from Vanessa DiBernardo, only to see the Koreans equalize and send the match into extra time. Eight minutes into extra time, Chioma Ubogagu headed in the game-winner, off a Crystal Dunn cross. Continue reading “U-20 WWC: Quarterfinals Round-Up – Nigeria, Japan, Germany, and the USA Advance”

U-20 WWC: Match Day 5 – Mexico Knocks-Out New Zealand, Brazil Falls to South Korea

The final day of group play for Groups A and B in the 2012 Under-20 Women’s World Cup saw Mexico crush the hearts of the Junior Football Ferns as El Tri scored four second-half goals and Brazil fall to South Korea after scoring a potential go-ahead goal that was disallowed on a disputable offside call. In the other matches, Japan and Nigeria each had relatively easy 4:0 wins over Switzerland and Italy, respectively.

With all matches played in Groups A and B, Japan and Mexico advance out of Group A, while Nigeria and South Korea advance from Group B. Thus, the quarterfinal match-ups for August 30th will be Nigeria vs. Mexico (3:00 a.m. EDT) and Japan vs. South Korea (6:30 a.m. EDT). Both matches will be shown live on ESPNU. Continue reading “U-20 WWC: Match Day 5 – Mexico Knocks-Out New Zealand, Brazil Falls to South Korea”

U-20 WWC: Mexico vs. New Zealand (Group A) Will Be Shown on ESPNU

A quick heads-up for those not on Twitter… According to the WatchESPN site, Sunday morning’s schedule for the Under-20 Women’s World Cup on ESPNU has been changed as Mexico vs. New Zealand will be the Group A match televised, instead of Japan vs. Switzerland.

Sunday’s Schedule:
3:10 AM EDT        Korea Republic vs. Brazil (Group B)
6:10 AM EDT        Mexico vs. New Zealand (Group A)

Barring a miraculous Switzerland blowout of Japan, Mexico must win against New Zealand, while the Junior Football Ferns only need a draw to ensure advancement.

In the Group B match, Brazil requires a win, but South Korea can advance with just a draw, although a win for the Koreans would guarantee advancement to the quarterfinals.

U-20 WWC: Match Day 3 – Japan and New Zealand Tie, Brazil Gets Another Draw

On Wednesday, New Zealand created the biggest headline so far from this year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup when they got out to an early 2:0 lead and held host Japan to an eventual draw.Also in Group A, Mexico pulled out a 2:0 win over Switzerland, keeping their hopes alive, while snuffing out Switzerland’s. Meanwhile, in Group B, under-performing Brazil earned its second draw of the tournament via another late goal against Nigeria, and South Korea got their first points via a 2:0 win over Italy. Continue reading “U-20 WWC: Match Day 3 – Japan and New Zealand Tie, Brazil Gets Another Draw”

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”

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)”