Saturday 08 October 2016, 21:21

English on the spot as Ghana, Asians celebrate

THE DAY REPLAYED –The quarter-final line-up at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Jordan 2016 was completed today after the last round of group matches, with Korea DPR and England progressing from Group C and Japan and Ghana from Group D. On a dramatic Matchday 6, USA were eliminated before the knockout phase, just as they were in 2012, while Paraguay, Brazil and a Nigeria side that failed to score at all were also packing for home.

Group winners Korea DPR and Japan will go up against Ghana and England respectively in the last eight. FIFA.com looks back on a day in which England defied their reputation from the penalty spot and the Koreans evidently took inspiration from Spanish football.

Results*Group C* Korea DPR 3-0 Nigeria Brazil 1-2 England

Group D Japan 3-2 USA Paraguay 0-1 Ghana

Goal of the day*Paraguay-Ghana,Sandra Owuso-Ansah (68') Paraguay goalkeeper Andrea Benkenstein looked unbeatable for a long time today. Ghana struggled against La Albirroja* of all teams, a side that had conceded 11 goals in their first two games and with the worst overall defensive record at the tournament, shipping 46 in nine outings. Eventually captain Sandra Owuso-Ansah broke the deadlock, though, lashing an unstoppable half-volley from 25 yards into the top corner.

Memorable moments*Stanway defies nation's penalty reputation *England and penalties is one of the never-ending stories in FIFA World Cup™ history. Yet Georgia Stanway appears not to hold much store by that, showing her male counterparts how it is done in her side's match against Brazil. The No10 converted two spot-kicks almost perfectly, hammering one into the top left corner and the other into the top right. In doing so, the midfielder turned the game on its head and fired the Three Lionesses into the quarter-finals. No player had ever previously scored two penalties in a single game at an U-17 Women's World Cup, while the only time two penalties had been awarded was in a match between Italy and Spain at Costa Rica 2014.

Korean tiki-taka Ri Hae Yon recorded the third hat-trick of the tournament so far today. Her second strike against Nigeria was one to savour, as Korea DPR linked up in tiki-taka style, stringing together four inch-perfect first-time passes from the halfway line all the way into Nigeria's penalty area. There, the No10 maintained her composure and buried the ball in the bottom right corner. Ri's haul puts her second in the top scorers' chart on four goals, only behind Spain's Lorena Navarro.

Japanese rotation Japan have now won nine consecutive U-17 Women's World Cup matches. It remains to be seen how long that run will last, but here in Jordan it certainly does not seem to depend on which players coach Naoki Kusunose selects. Following today's match against USA, all 21 members of the squad – including all three goalkeepers – have featured.

The stat 0 –It just was not meant to be for Nigeria at Jordan 2016. A team famous for its attacking prowess, having scored 41 goals in 15 matches across four tournament editions, were the only nation not to find the target. Only Japan, Germany and Korea DPR have scored more competition goals than the Flamingos. The Africans had 52 shots on goal in the three fixtures at their fifth U-17 World Cup outing, at an average of 17.3 per game, but they simply could not score. Azerbaijan are the only other team to have previously drawn a blank at the tournament, doing so as hosts in 2012.

The words "They congratulated me for making Ghana proud. Now we expect to make it all the way to the final." Sandra Owuso-Ansah, Ghana captain Next matchday*Quarter-finals Wednesday 12 October *Mexico – Venezuela, 16:00 Germany – Spain, 19:00

Thursday 13 October Korea DPR – Ghana, 16:00 Japan – England, 19:00

  • (All times local)*