Group D
France goals: Marmillot (2), Gallais (19 & 33), Moreira Da Rocha (90+2)
Samoa goals: Eldredge (37), Leonard (51)
Player of the Match: Grace Ae (Samoa)
Samoa delivered an outstanding performance on their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ debut, but a stirring fightback was insufficient to deny France maximum points. Two glorious Ludivine Bardet crosses allowed Camille Marmillot and Thais Gallais to head France into a two-goal lead. Gallais swivelled stylishly to make it three, but Samoa came back swinging. Jayde Eldredge, just minutes after coming on, stabbed home to spark wild celebrations among Juan Chang’s players. Makea Leonard’s exceptional, intuitive finish then pulled Samoa within one, but Elena Moreira Da Rocha’s excellent free-kick sealed a deserved success for Mickael Ferreira’s Bleuettes.
“Scoring a goal – especially a goal like that, right at the end – it’s honestly very emotional. I had worked on free-kicks like that before, but honestly, it’s been a while since I’ve taken one. This time I went for it and it paid off.”
Elena Moreira Da Rocha, France player
“We’re speechless. We have put a lot of work in, so I’m just really glad that the girls demonstrated what we can do, despite being the smallest country ever to play in a World Cup. People say David versus Goliath, but the only thing we want to do is to make Samoa proud, and to make the Oceania region proud, and I’m pretty confident the girls did that today.”
Juan Chang, Samoa coach
Nigeria goal: Joseph (30)
Canada goal: Istocki (2), Kekic (73), Amireh (80 & 86)
Player of the Match: Olivia Chisholm (Canada)
Canada turned it on late to make a successful start. They shattered the deadlock instantly, Molly Hale doing superbly down the left and teeing up Gabriela Istocki, but Queen Joseph pounced on a loose ball to equalise. Khadijah Cisse made several smart stops to frustrate Nigeria, before Melisa Kekic cut inside her marker and found the bottom corner to give Canada the lead. Julia Amireh then rose from the bench to give herself a memorable 17th birthday present in the form of a brace.
“This was a huge game. Sometimes mistakes happen. We had our chances at the first half. We didn’t take advantage of them and we paid dearly for it. I think it’s a lesson we’ll keep learning, and then we’ll go back and watch how we played and see how we bounce back.”
Bankole Olowookere, Nigeria coach
“We knew Nigeria were going to be a physical team, that they were going to be strong in the transition. We were prepared to weather that storm in the first half. We made a couple of tweaks at half-time in terms of us being higher, being more aggressive, and looking to get pressure on them higher up the pitch with our wingers, with our full-backs. I think that really turned the tide and put it into our favour.”
Jen Herst, Canada coach
Group E
Korea Republic goal: Jang pen (83)
Côte d’Ivoire goal: Ouedraogo (2)
Player of the Match: Han Gukhee (Korea Republic)
Korea Republic and Côte d’Ivoire shared the spoils in a game of two halves. The Young Elephants raced from one box to the other and into an instant advantage. Zea Kone’s superb pass, from inside her own half, enabled Nsira Ouedraogo to round goalkeeper Kim Chaebeen and slot the ball into an unguarded net. The Young Taegeuk Ladies bossed proceedings after the break and got their reward late on, substitute Baek Seoyeong being tripped in the box and Jang Yeyun clinically dispatching the resulting penalty.
“We’re a bit disappointed to only get a draw. We obviously hope to get more points in the next game [against Spain]. There were no Asian qualifiers before this tournament, so our players don’t necessarily have the same experience as teams from other continents. We trained well at home and since arriving here, although a bit more collective experience would certainly have helped.”
Go Hyunbok, Korea Republic coach
“It’s a source of pride to be the first to play in this competition for Côte d’Ivoire. We had a good match, but we can do better. I think we need to learn to work more collectively. I believe that’s the most important thing if we want to win the next game.”
Grace Sery, Côte d’Ivoire player
Spain goals: Quer (15), Chacon (28 & 45+1), Cristobal (78)
Player of the Match: Carlota Chacon (Spain)
Spain made a statement of their title credentials with an emphatic defeat of Colombia. Anna Quer slammed home the first, before Carlota Chacon masterfully curled the ball into the top corner to double the advantage and then made it three with a header. Noa Jimenez’s footwork then won Milagros Martinez’s side a spot-kick, but her attempt was saved superbly by Isabella Tejada. Silvia Cristobal sealed the success by volleying home a Rosalia Dominguez free-kick.
“Colombia were always going to be tough opponents, our biggest rivals in the group. It was our first match and I think we handled it very well. We all played really well and with the desire for more.”
Carlota Chacon, Spain player
Group F
Japan goals: Aoki pen (38), Fukushima (75), Shikida (84)
Player of the match: Yuna Aoki (Japan)
Japan cruised to victory despite the heroics of New Zealand goalkeeper Nienke Lemmens. The Little Nadeshiko were awarded two first-half penalties for handball. Yuna Aoki sent Lemmens the wrong way to break the deadlock, but the 15-year-old goalkeeper dived south-west to repel the Japan captain’s second attempt. Lemmens made a string of saves after the restart, but the brilliance of substitute Yuna Takahashi enabled Noa Fukushima and Niko Shikida to make the success comfortable.
“It was our first game and it wasn’t easy, but we were able to win against New Zealand and I’m happy. I want to further refine what are considered the strengths of Japanese players and take that into the next game.”
Sadayoshi Shirai, Japan coach
“We knew Japan were going to be really hard to keep out for 90 minutes. We had a couple of gameplans up our sleeve, and what the girls did out there was pretty epic, they put in a massive shift. The subs that came on helped.”
Alana Gunn, New Zealand coach
Zambia goal: Mbali (10)
Paraguay goals: Mary Nyangu OG (18), Nana Malanda OG (34)
Player of the Match: Claudia Martinez
Paraguay eked out victory thanks to two own-goals. Victoria Mbali stabbed Zambia into the lead, only for Mary Nyangu to gift Paraguay a leveller. The goalkeeper saved Alison Bareiro, but then lost control of the ball and it drifted over the line. A Sofia Cabrera corner was then turned into her own net by Nana Malanda. The Africans had the better of the possession and the opportunities after the restart, but Tamara Amarilla was infallible in the South Americans’ net.
