Hosts France held to draw by New Zealand
The Netherlands sparkle again to reach quarter-finals
Defending champions Korea DPR bounce back with a win
THE DAY REPLAYED - The Netherlands became the first team to book their ticket to the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018 following the second round of matches in Groups A and B on Wednesday. The Dutch eased into the last eight, thanks to a comfortable victory over Ghana, who must now pack their bags for home. Tournament hosts France suffered a minor setback after being held to a goalless draw by New Zealand.
There is still all to play for in Group B, where the section will not be decided until the final matchday. Korea DPR's title defence hopes remain alive after bouncing back with a hard-fought victory over Mexico, while Brazil still have a chance of qualifying following their draw with England. Excitement is therefore guaranteed in the group finale on Sunday 12 August.
Results Group A: Netherlands 4-0 Ghana | France 0-0 New Zealand Group B: Brazil 1-1 England | Korea DPR 2-1 Mexico
France 2018: Matchday Three
Memorable moments
If stoppage time did not exist... …then there would almost certainly have been tears in the Brazilian camp. They were 1-0 down for over 80 minutes and could find no way past a well-organised English defence or their inspired goalkeeper Sandy MacIver. At the end of the match, the South American champions had registered 21 shots on goal to England's six, and only managed to equalise with their very last attack of the game.
Following in the seniors' footsteps The Netherlands maintained their fine form in their second match of the tournament to send a clear statement of intent to their competitors at France 2018. The U-20s have now won both of their group fixtures so far, a feat the senior team also managed at UEFA EURO 2017, where they went on to become just the fourth country to be crowned European champions. Perhaps the juniors can tread that same path and become the fourth nation to lift the U-20 Women's World Cup title after Germany, USA and Korea DPR. The foundations have already been laid…
History not repeating itself Mexico faced the defending champions in the group stage of a World Cup for the second time this summer. Yet, while the senior men's team got the better of Germany at the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ in Russia, the U-20 women's side could not follow suit against Korea DPR in Dinan-Lehon. The one consolation for El Tri is that the East Asian side were unable to repeat the high-scoring victories of the past against the North Americans, having won 4-0 at Russia 2006 and 5-1 at Chile 2008.
The words “Even though we conceded the first goal, it was a chance to get even more confidence in ourselves and recover as soon as possible. I think this match could be a kind of turning point for us to claim an even bigger victory in the match against Brazil [on Sunday].” Korea DPR midfielder Kim Pom-Ui
Up next
Thursday 9 August
Group C Spain vs Japan, Concarneau, 16:30 (local time) USA vs Paraguay, Concarneau, 19:30 (local time)
Group D China PR vs Germany, Saint-Malo, 13:30 (local time) Haiti vs Nigeria, Saint-Malo, 16:30 (local time)