Hosts Canada have qualified for the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup after a 1-0 win over Korea DPR, who also advance to the knockout phase. Indeed, despite losing out to a solitary Janine Beckie goal, the North Koreans' superior goal difference ensures they march on as group winners to a last-eight meeting with USA, while the Canadians will take on Germany.
Even before kick-off, Andrew Olivieri's side were handed a major boost when the news filtered through that Korea DPR's star player, Ri Un-Sim, had been omitted from the starting line-up. The North Korean No10 would make her entrance in the second half but, by that time, her team-mates had proved they would be formidable opponents with or without their inspirational talisman.
The 2006 champions certainly dominated a first half of few chances, one of the best of which saw Choe Un-Hwa narrowly miss out with a delicate left-footed chip from the angle of the penalty area. At the other end, the best effort Canada could muster arrived three minutes before half-time when Kim Chol-Uk saved comfortably from Valerie Sanderson's looping header.
Not for the first time at this tournament, though, the hosts emerged from the half-time break a much-improved team. Even before they eventually took the lead, they had come close, with Nichelle Prince wriggling free inside the box only to see her attempted pass to set up Sanderson for an open goal cut out by the North Korean defence.
Canada continued to probe, though, and on 65 minutes got their reward. Again, Prince was at the heart of the action, doing superbly to burst away from her marker towards the byline before drilling over a perfect cross. At the same time, Janine Beckie - one of the heroines in their comeback against Finland - had sneaked in unnoticed at the back post, enabling the simplest of tap-ins from five yards.
And while the North Koreans pushed forward in the closing stages, they did so without troubling a well-organised Canada defence that should, on this form at least, prove a tough nut for the Germans to crack.
Live Your Goals player of the match: Kadeisha Buchanan (CAN)
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Dream homecoming for Canada's Fletcher
© Getty Images
Emma Fletcher's World Cup story is a tale of two different tournaments, two different jerseys and two very different experiences.
In 2012, in the unfamiliar surroundings of Azerbaijan, the midfielder played in the all-white of New Zealand and returned deflated, having lost all three matches. Now, two years on, the 19-year-old is a beaming, conquering hero, having just clinched a place in the U-20 quarter-finals in front an elated home crowd.
But those cheering fans, with the notable exception of her father, were not Kiwis, and nor is Fletcher. Born and bred in Victoria, British Columbia, she is now representing her native country and is thrilled to be doing so on home soil.
"I'm Canadian," she explained, "so Canada has always been my first choice and the natural team for me. When I was younger, it just wasn't the right fit at that time and it was cool to be offered a different experience. I feel I gained a lot from it too. But when the chance came to link up with Canada again, I knew it was the right thing to do.
"I had a great experience with New Zealand at the U-17 World Cup and I loved the girls on that team. But this - playing in my home country for my home country - is something special. It's just amazing. And although both World Cups have been awesome experiences, what I'm doing here is something I've always dreamed of.
"To be able to celebrate a night like this, especially playing at home, has been probably the highlight of my career so far. This tournament has definitely been the craziest thing I've ever experienced. To hear everyone cheering you on has just been so, so cool, and all the girls in that dressing room just want to keep this going for as long as we can."
"We've grown a lot throughout the tournament, and we've needed to," said Fletcher, who helped her team turn that deficit into a 3-2 victory. "After our first game, we were all pretty worried. And things were looking pretty bad at half-time in the Finland game. But it seems to have brought out the best in us because when the pressure has been on and we've needed to perform, we've managed to get the results we needed."
Now, having climbed one mountain, Canada and Fletcher face another. This particular peak looms in the imposing shape of Germany, two-time winners and, on current form, arguably favourites to triumph in this year's edition. But as she emerged from a noisy, jubilant dressing room, the teenager could only see the positives in a showdown with such an impressive, in-form team.
"The celebrations have been great and we're all really happy," she said. "Our goal is the semi-finals but getting through the group was always going to be tough enough, so we feel we've really achieved something tonight.
"But we know there's still a big job to be done at this tournament, and how tough Germany are going to be. For now we're just going to enjoy the night and the fact we've got through. But tomorrow the focus turns to Germany. I've never played against them with either New Zealand or Canada, so it will be a new experience for me. Whatever happens, it's going to be fun."
In 2012, in the unfamiliar surroundings of Azerbaijan, the midfielder played in the all-white of New Zealand and returned deflated, having lost all three matches. Now, two years on, the 19-year-old is a beaming, conquering hero, having just clinched a place in the U-20 quarter-finals in front an elated home crowd.
But those cheering fans, with the notable exception of her father, were not Kiwis, and nor is Fletcher. Born and bred in Victoria, British Columbia, she is now representing her native country and is thrilled to be doing so on home soil.
"I'm Canadian," she explained, "so Canada has always been my first choice and the natural team for me. When I was younger, it just wasn't the right fit at that time and it was cool to be offered a different experience. I feel I gained a lot from it too. But when the chance came to link up with Canada again, I knew it was the right thing to do.
"I had a great experience with New Zealand at the U-17 World Cup and I loved the girls on that team. But this - playing in my home country for my home country - is something special. It's just amazing. And although both World Cups have been awesome experiences, what I'm doing here is something I've always dreamed of.
"To be able to celebrate a night like this, especially playing at home, has been probably the highlight of my career so far. This tournament has definitely been the craziest thing I've ever experienced. To hear everyone cheering you on has just been so, so cool, and all the girls in that dressing room just want to keep this going for as long as we can."
Already, by qualifying for the knockout phase, this team have prolonged their journey at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup longer than any of the three Canadian sides that went before them. Andrew Olivieri's side managed it in style too, beating Korea DPR - traditional giants at this level and champions in 2006 - to complete a recovery that at one stage looked impossible. Certainly, only the most unshakable optimist could have imagined tonight's scenes of jubilation when the hosts, having lost their opener to Ghana, found themselves 2-0 down to Finland at half-time of their second Group A fixture.Although both World Cups have been awesome experiences, what I'm doing here is something I've always dreamed of.
"We've grown a lot throughout the tournament, and we've needed to," said Fletcher, who helped her team turn that deficit into a 3-2 victory. "After our first game, we were all pretty worried. And things were looking pretty bad at half-time in the Finland game. But it seems to have brought out the best in us because when the pressure has been on and we've needed to perform, we've managed to get the results we needed."
Now, having climbed one mountain, Canada and Fletcher face another. This particular peak looms in the imposing shape of Germany, two-time winners and, on current form, arguably favourites to triumph in this year's edition. But as she emerged from a noisy, jubilant dressing room, the teenager could only see the positives in a showdown with such an impressive, in-form team.
"The celebrations have been great and we're all really happy," she said. "Our goal is the semi-finals but getting through the group was always going to be tough enough, so we feel we've really achieved something tonight.
"But we know there's still a big job to be done at this tournament, and how tough Germany are going to be. For now we're just going to enjoy the night and the fact we've got through. But tomorrow the focus turns to Germany. I've never played against them with either New Zealand or Canada, so it will be a new experience for me. Whatever happens, it's going to be fun."
Daily Media Update for 13 August
12 August 2014 20:00 CET
Match Schedule
The moment of truth has arrived in Groups C and D, with hopes of progress accompanying fears of elimination for the teams in contention. Only Nigeria and France enjoy relative security ahead of their final outings, whereas the future hangs in the balance for Group C trio England, Mexico and Korea Republic and Group D sides Paraguay, New Zealand and Costa Rica. Click here to check the complete Match Schedule and here you can access latest Results and Standings.
13 August
Group C
Korea Republic-Mexico (Toronto, 20:00)
Nigeria-England (Edmonton, 18:00)
Group D
Paraguay-France (Edmonton, 15:00)
Costa Rica-New Zealand (Toronto, 17:00)
(All times local)
Stats of the DayFind here information on tomorrow’s matches such as Previous Women’s U20 head-to-heads and also comparative statistics from 2002 to 2014 on goals, cards and attendances. The Stats of the Day is a daily report produced by FIFA Documentation that provides a wealth of competition information in the form of short facts.
Highlights
Nigeria v. EnglandIn six prior participations Nigeria failed to reach the quarter-finals only once, on their debut in 2002. England have made it into the last eight twice, in 2002 and 2008, failing to do so only in 2010.
Korea Republic v. MexicoBoth teams have progressed to the quarter-finals twice, in 2010 and 2012. Prior to that Mexico had suffered three group-stage knockouts (in 2002, 2006 and 2008) compared with Korea Republic’s one (in 2004).
Costa Rica v. New Zealand
The sides have never played each other before in a FIFA women’s competition.
Paraguay v. FranceFrance have progressed beyond the group round twice in four attempts (2006 and 2008), suffering early exits in 2002 and 2010. By contrast, Paraguay are making their debut in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Media ticketing for Quarterfinals The application process for accredited media to request press tribune and photo tribune match tickets for the Quarterfinals of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup will be open at 23:00 EDT on the day when both teams are known for a specific match and close at midnight on the day after. Photographers wishing to work from the pitch (field) area behind the goals are not required to submit a ticket request.Please refer to the chart below for dates and times when match ticketing will be open: | ||
Match # | Media Ticketing Opens | Media Ticketing Closes |
25 | 12 August at 23:00 | 13 August at 23:59 |
26 | 12 August at 23:00 | 13 August at 23:59 |
27 | 13 August at 23:00 | 14 August at 23:59 |
28 | 13 August at 23:00 | 14 August at 23:59 |
Note: All times are Eastern Daylight Time |
Match DocumentsMatch Documents such as Start List, Match Reports, Stats of Day Archive, Referees Designation, Disciplinary Previews, Squad List and Statistics are available on the Media Channel. Please find them here.
Team Calendar
A daily calendar of team activities is available on the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup section of the FIFA Media Channel. Media will find a complete list of team training schedules and other media activities updated throughout the day. Media are encouraged to regularly check the calendar for changes or updates.
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