Tag: U20 Women’s World Cup

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.

Continue reading “Under-20 Women’s World Cup: TV and Online Information for the USA, Canada, and More”

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”

U-20 USWNT: The USA’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup Roster

On Thurdsay, U.S. Soccer released its roster for the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan, which begins August August 19th. Besides adding goalkeeper Jami Kranich as the third ‘keeper, head coach Steve Swanson made three other changes from the squad that qualified for this tournament back in March: Becca Wann and a healthy Kelly Cobb replace Lindsey Horan, who suffered a meniscus injury in June, and Micaelle Capelle, while defender Olivia Brannon has been cut, with midfielder Taylor Schram being a last minute addition. Continue reading “U-20 USWNT: The USA’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup Roster”

Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Other Available Rosters

[Updated (8-Aug-2012): Canada’s roster has been added.]

As the title says, other available rosters for the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan, including Mexico’s and Canada’s. Continue reading “Under-20 Women’s World Cup: Other Available Rosters”

U-20 WWC: Germany Wins Its Send-Off Friendly 7:0 over Sweden

In their final domestic friendly prior to the Under-20 Women’s World Cup, United States group opponent Germany defeated the U-20 WNT of Sweden 7:0. More interesting than the lopsided scoreline is the fact that team captain Ramona Petzelberger did not play at all, with Dzenifer Marozsan wearing the captain’s armband. In an earlier interview, head coach Maren Meinert stated that Sweden would be bringing its U-23 WNT, however the SvFF describes the team as a U-20, although all the players appear to be U-19 or younger (Sweden’s roster, SvFF website). Continue reading “U-20 WWC: Germany Wins Its Send-Off Friendly 7:0 over Sweden”

U-20 WWC: Ghana and Nigeria Split Tune-Up Friendlies

Ghana’s Under-20 Women’s National Team, who will face the United States U-20 WNT in the two sides’ opening match of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup this August in Japan, recently hosted two friendlies against rival African side Nigeria. In the first match, on July 24th, Ghana, who never trailed in the friendly, defeated Nigeria 3:2, with a brace by top forward Florence Dadson. In the second match, Ghana took an early lead — in just the 2nd minute — but was unable to hold back Nigeria, who scored two unanswered goals in the second half to claim a victory.
Continue reading “U-20 WWC: Ghana and Nigeria Split Tune-Up Friendlies”