Little women
FOUR teams are looking to claim a berth in the semi-finals of the U-17 Women's World Cup when they kick-off in Christchurch, New Zealand
Germany, North Korea, England and the US made it to the semi-finals of the first-ever U-17 women's World Cup. The final and the placement match for third place will be on Sunday.
The cities of Willington and Hamilton saw the joys and celebrations of the winning teams and tears and disappointment of the others at the most exciting games of the tournament.
The first two quarter-finals games took place in the capital Wellington, which has been suffering terrible weather conditions in the past weeks. Surprisingly, it was a sunny day on Saturday.
Germany became the first team to make it to the knock-out stage after a 3-1 win over Canada. Dzsenifer Marozsan scored twice which took her two clear at the top of the New Zealand 2008 scoring charts. Marozsan brings so much more to the German side than merely goals. The 16- year- old opening strike in this match exemplified the range of her talents, with some delightful footwork in the build-up preceding a powerful and precise finish beyond the helpless Genevieve Richard.
Canada were their own worst enemies for Germany's second, slotted home by Lynn Mester after Alexandra Popp had struck the post, but they showed commendable resolve to halve the deficit before half-time through the athletic Nkem Ezurike.
The European champions remained in complete control throughout, however, and the moment of inspiration they required to make sure of victory came, predictably, from their No 10, again combining skill, power and accuracy to put the game beyond Canada's reach.
When Korea held his side to a draw in their final Group B match, Germany coach Ralf Peter warned that they had only now seen the "true strength" of a team that had, after all, beaten the brilliant Japanese to their continental title. The North Koreans had been decidedly uninspiring in their opening two matches at New Zealand 2008, but Peter's promise proved solid as Denmark were given an awesome demonstration of the Asian champions' potential.
Jon Myong Hwa was the architect of a resounding victory, scoring an opportunistic goal to open the scoring before extending the North Koreans' lead with a superbly struck second. With Denmark toothless in attack, Ri Un Ham's side were well worthy of the four-goal winning margin established by a coolly converted third from Ri Un Ae and a fourth from Kim Un Ju that very nearly burst the net. For Korea DPR, who shocked everyone by winning the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup two years ago, the win maintains their impressive unbeaten record in FIFA women's youth competitions.
So, Korea have been left to fly the flag for Asia after a dramatic day in Hamilton that saw Japan and South Korea crash out at the hands of England and US respectively.
The Japan-England encounter could only be named as the big game of the quarter-finals. Japan's imperious form in the group phase had many people tipping them to progress to the semis with ease, particularly with England having toiled in their final group match against Asian opposition in South Korea. Lois Fidler's tenacious side made light of the odds, however, refusing to buckle against the Asian favourites and earning reward for their unshakeable belief with a place in the last four.
It had all started so well for the Young Nadeshiko when Mana Iwabuchi delightfully set up Chinatsu Kira for the opening goal after only eight minutes. Hiroshi Yoshida's gifted charges continued to carve out the first half opportunities only to be let down by some sloppy finishing, while the English made up for their technical inferiority with some old-fashioned grit and determination, complemented by occasional moments of genuine quality. Lucy Staniforth produced one such moment with a firm, precise drive on the stroke of half-time and although Iwabuchi restored Japan's lead with just 10 minutes remaining, Isobel Christiansen's late, late wonder goal took the 2-2 tie into extra time.
It was all decided from the spot and after England keeper Lauren Davey had denied Natsumi Kameoka, Gemma Bonner coolly converted a textbook winning kick to take the battling Lionesses through with 5-4 penalty kicks for England.
While it was asking too much of US and South Korea to match the fireworks served up in the early kick-off, the Americans created a little bit of history as they set up a semi-final date with Germany, maintaining their country's record of always reaching the last four in FIFA women's competitions. The US won 4-2.
Courtney Verloo's opportunistic early and delightful goal from Kristie Mewis set the US on the way to semi-final number 13, with Verloo and Vicki DiMartino adding to the tally to ensure that Hyun Young Lee's second-half double counted for little.
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