THE DAY REPLAYED – European teams sent a strong message that there may be a changing of the guard afoot at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018, with Spain and Germany ruthlessly disposing of Korea Republic and Korea DPR respectively on Wednesday. The tournament’s second matchday also saw two of the three CONCACAF representatives make it clear that they are not in South America to simply make up the numbers.

Results Group C USA 3-0 Cameroon Korea DPR 1-4 Germany

Group D Korea Republic 0-4 Spain Canada 3-0 Colombia

Memorable moments Not fazed: Korea DPR went into their clash with Germany with the psychological advantage of having previously won this tournament twice and finished as runners-up once, and having recently been crowned champions of Asia again. However, it evidently takes more than an impressive list of honours to worry this set of German players, who put on a masterful performance that featured a brace from the inspirational Gia Corley, as well as two fine efforts from Sophie Weidauer and Charlotte Blumel.

American joy prolongs African dismay: USA had lost their last two U-17 Women’s World Cup matches, but they ensured there would not be a third defeat in a row by beating Cameroon, extending the Africans’ own run of losses in the competition to four. The Lioness Cubs will need to quickly overcome their disappointment if they are to have any chance of getting back on the winning track against the other powerhouses that make up Group C, namely Korea DPR and Germany.

Experience shines through: The core of Spain’s team were part of the national squad that recently reached the final of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France, and those experienced heads played a key role in their comfortable victory over Korea Republic in Montevideo. Eva Navarro, Claudia Pina and Catalina Coll all put in memorable performances, the two outfield players scoring three of La Rojita’s four goals and the goalkeeper doing everything in her power to clinch a clean sheet.

Leaving it late: Canada and Colombia played out a tentative, uneventful first half at Estadio Charrua, the weight of expectation possibly proving too much to bear for both teams, whose overall records at this tournament are disappointing. It was a completely different story in the second half, with the crossbar being struck three times and the Colombians missing a penalty. In the 77th minute, the North Americans finally made the breakthrough, and they went on to score two further goals late on to seal three points and secure their largest-ever win at the U-17 Women's World Cup.

The words “We deserved this win after battling so hard. It’s great for our confidence, but we’ll need to push ourselves to the limit again to continue in the same vein against USA and Cameroon.” Germany coach Ulrike Ballweg on the challenges that lie ahead

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Friday 16 November Group A Finland-Ghana, Montevideo, 16.00 Uruguay-New Zealand, Montevideo,19.00

Group B Japan-South Africa, Maldonado, 14.00 Mexico-Brazil, Maldonado, 17.00