Thursday 16 August 2018, 08:08

France exact revenge, Spain dream on

  • First two teams book semi-final tickets

  • Spain reach last four for the first time

  • France knock out defending champions Korea DPR​

THE DAY REPLAYED – Two of the spots in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018 semi-finals have now been filled, with Spain the first to reach the last four after a narrow victory over Nigeria.

The second match of the day was a replay of the 2016 final between France and Korea DPR. This time, Les Bleuettes came out on top and will meet Spain in the semi-finals.

Results Quarter-finals - Concarneau Spain 2-1 Nigeria France 1-0 Korea DPR

Memorable moments

La Rojita and Guijarro continue to fly high Having already eliminated three-time champions USA from the tournament, Spain continued their fine form by reaching the semi-finals for the first time ever. Just like during the qualifying campaign for these finals, in which La Rojita ended up as European U-19 champions, Patri Guijarro's goals have sparked dreams of a maiden U-20 Women's World Cup title. She netted five times to finish as top scorer at the European U-19 Championship and once again leads the way at France 2018 with five goals – a tally she could still add to before the tournament is over.

New chapter Only twice in history had two European teams previously reached the semi-finals at the same time at this competition. Germany and France did so in 2008 and again in 2014, meaning a new chapter will now be written in the record books following France 2018. Friday's fixture between England and the Netherlands will guarantee a third European country will appear in the last four, while a fourth could follow, if Germany beat Japan.

Familiar faces At Papua New Guinea 2016, Korea DPR beat France 3-1 in the final to lift the title and break Les Bleuettes' hearts. The teams met for the second tournament in succession, only this time France were celebrating at the final whistle, as coach Gilles Eyquem's charges rubber-stamped their place in the semi-finals to retain hope of breaking the host nation curse. To date, Germany's triumph in 2010 is the only time a team has won the U-20 Women's World Cup title on home soil.

The words "Spain played very well. They're set up to have possession. They play it on the ground and always try to get behind their opponents and they've got a good selection of players in attack. They've long been one of the favourites to win this U-20 Women's World Cup." Silvia Neid, former coach of Germany's senior women's team and current head of the trend scouting department in girl's and women's football for the German Football Association (DFB)

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Up next

Quarter-finals - Friday 17 August

England-Netherlands, Vannes, 16:00 (local time) Germany-Japan, Vannes, 19:30 (local time)