U17 Women's World Cup: September 5-25, Trinidad and Tobago

[Soccer9]

News from U17 Camp:

Canada beat Japan's U17's today 2-1 in Florida to close their camp. This is pretty good news although we do not know all the details and general flow of the game. In his post-match report Rosenfed was quite reserved I would say...

(fromCanadasoccer.com)

Canada's women's U-17 team defeated Japan 2:1 in an international friendly on Thursday morning in Sunrise, FL. Both of Canada’s goals were scored by second half substitutes Jade Kovacevic and Abigail Raymer. Canada and Japan have both qualified for this September’s FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup in Trinidiad and Tobago.

“Today’s match required a disciplined performance from our team,” said head coach Bryan Rosenfeld. “Playing against a technically skilled team like Japan as well as in the hot conditions we needed to ensure that we were defensively solid. It is a positive win, but we still need to improve technically and tactically prior to the World Cup.“

In an evenly played match both teams had numerous chances to score. Canada opened the scorng in the 47th minute as Kovacevic made an immediate impact after being introduced by coach Rosenfeld at half time. Japan responded well to going behind and created a flurry of scoring opportunities before eventually levelling the match in the 57th minute. The match settled following the explosive opening to the second half, setting up Raymer to score the match winner in the 85th minute.

For this match, coach Rosenfeld's starting XI featured Rachelle Beanlands in goal, Ally Courtnall at left back, Alison Clarke and Nicole Setterlund at centre back, Yazmin Ongtengco at right back, Diamond Simpson, Chantale Campbell and Nour Ghoneim in a three player midfield, and Haisha Cantave, Charléne Achille and Kinley McNicoll from right to left up front.

[Vic]

Quite the result. Japan plays the Americans twice next. Any idea who we are playing?

Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa are now officially qualified. We are grouped with Ghana who thrashed Tunisia 11-0 in their two-leg CAF semi-final.

[Soccer9]

Quite the result. Japan plays the Americans twice next. Any idea who we are playing?

Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa are now officially qualified. We are grouped with Ghana who thrashed Tunisia 11-0 in their two-leg CAF semi-final.

Well our Camp closed today so it will have to go to the next one... in July I believe. Japan plays the USA tomorrow I believe so it can be that they rested some players.

[Vic]

You would think from their timetable and the spacing of games they are playing three games in a week as a laboratory to simulate group play and see how the team and individual players react both mentally and physically to the routine/schedule. I could be way off base but if that's the case it's actually quite smart and you would expect to see their best players getting heavy minutes in all the games.

[Vic]

Some additional commentary on the game:

In a back-and-forth opening half both sides enjoyed brief periods of dominance but were unable to capitalize on several scoring chances.

Canada’s Simpson was set-up 10 yards out from goal in the 23rd minute following some nice combination play from Courtnall and Cantave but could only fire high over the goal.

For its part Japan was creating opportunities but could not find a way past Canadian goalkeeper Beanlands who made several excellent saves in the first half. “We had good goalkeeping when we needed it today and that gave us the momentum to go on and win the game,” said coach Rosenfeld.

Rosenfeld made two substitutes to start the second half and both would contribute in a big way. Ghoneim and Achille were replaced by Kovacevic and Raymer.

Just two minutes after coming into the match Kovacevic had the ball in the back of the goal and Canada in the lead. Fellow substitute Raymer was involved in the build up as she received a pass from Cantave before playing in Kovacevic who powered an unstoppable left foot strike in the top left corner.

Japan responded well to going a goal behind and immediately attacked the Canadian defence. Following a flurry of chances Mina Tanaka fired Japan onto level terms.

The match then settled back into a midfield battle as both teams caught their breath following the high-speed opening to the second half.

Coach Rosenfeld made two additional changes to his side as McNicoll and Cantave were replaced by Kylie Davis and Heather Young.

As the match reached the 85th minute it seemed to be headed for a hard fought draw, but there was late drama still to come. A strong run from Courtnall forced the Japanese defence to clear the ball for a Canadian corner. Campbell stepped up to take the kick and found Raymer who knocked the ball into the goal from three yards out. Coach Rosenfeld described the goal as a “well executed set piece.”

Rosenfeld singled out goalkeeper Beanlands and second half goal scorers Kovacevic and Raymer as his players of the match.

[Vic]

Some great stuff from an interview with Ralf Peter, who has won every UEFA Women's U17 competition:

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Twice the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship has been held since its inception in 2007/08; twice Ralf Peter has led Germany to the title. Next week he will attempt to make it three out of three as they prepare to face the Republic of Ireland in the semi-finals on Tuesday in Nyon. Peter spoke to UEFA.com about the pressure of being favourites and just why Germany dominate European women's football.

UEFA.com: You have already won the title twice, what are your chances of winning it a third time?

Ralf Peter: If you make it to the final four there is always a chance of winning the title. Like every year, it will not be an easy task, but we are optimistic about our chances of winning the title for a third time. We have studied our opponents by watching videos and as I said before, it will definitely not be easy.

UEFA.com: Who, in your opinion, are your most difficult opponents?

Peter: All the teams have their strengths and weaknesses. The Irish play with a lot of heart, are physically strong and run with the ball well. The Dutch are dangerous if you let them play too much and the Spanish have a strong attacking presence. It's hard to say. All three of the teams are on the same level in my opinion. I believe that any one of these four teams could win the tournament.

UEFA.com: Is it hard to have Ireland, the hardest team to work out, as your opening opponents or have you analysed your opponents enough that you feel you are perfectly prepared?

Peter: We studied the match between Ireland and Sweden. The Ireland team play the way we expect the Irish to – simple and direct football with a lot of running. They are an unknown quantity to an extent and couple that with their desire to reach the final, which for them would be a huge achievement, makes them dangerous and difficult to work out. They have nothing to lose. Overall, we know we can swing it in our favour, we are the favourites and we know the pressure is on us.

UEFA.com: Since this competition has been brought into existence, Germany have remained unbeaten. Is this a sign of a strong grassroots programme in Germany?

Peter: Yes, we have developed a strong plan and a good philosophy that filters through from the senior team all the way to the U15s. We play the same systems and take our time to get the younger players immersed in our style of play, and I believe the system is working in perfect tandem right now. This has most definitely played a part in our success, I also have to say that ultimately the DFB [German Football Association] has shown fantastic support which allows us to prepare for the tournaments in optimal conditions. Our aim is to pay them back by using their input to win our matches.

UEFA.com: Despite three wins in the second qualifying round you were not completely satisfied with how your team attacked. How have you gone about rectifying these problems?

Peter: Naturally we are always working on where we are weakest. It can also be said, though, that we do not have the attacking options this year that we have had in the past two years. The two quality strikers I coached now play in the U19 team and are therefore ineligible. Because of this we have a very young strike force. This year we have three strikers who were born in 1994 who are very talented and I believe that we can expect good things from them in the future.

UEFA.com: Some of your players have regular places in the Bundesliga. How important is it for your team that some of the players are already adding to their experience?

Peter: It's very important. For my players to be a regular part of top clubs like Potsdam or Duisburg is of course fantastic as these ladies are playing alongside women from the national side. Some of them have played in the Champions League and cup finals. It can only be a positive when the top clubs in the Bundesliga are willing to support the young German talent that is out there.

http://www.uefa.com/womensunder17/news/newsid=1499114.html?rss=1499114+Peter+states+Germany+principles

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A good example of all this is Anna Felicitas Sarholz the 17yr old goalkeeper who stopped two penalties in the shootout to win the Champions League final. Meanwhile back in Canada most elite level U17s are playing amateur youth soccer. The hideous translation of all this is the moment has finally arrived when girls like boys have to leave the country at young ages to become successful, and which isn't going to happen because of gender issues. Will there ever be another Hooper, Burtini, Lang, Sinclair, Parker or LeBlanc? Or have we 8-balled young Canadian girls from ever being considered world class?

The best thing we can do to keep pace is residency the best girls at U15 like the Swiss, but you likely couldn't pull that off here because of the politics, distance (Swiss girls are home on weekends), etc. That leaves the only hope as enormous funding increases to provide massive improvements to the professionalization of training at this age. Five days a week, full curriculum - 20hrs a week. That takes quality people and a lot of their time and it doesn't come cheap. But the alternative is a landslide down the rankings table, and climbing back up is always ten times harder than holding on.

[Soccer9]

Interesting stuff Vic, but man is he being humble. Germany should blow away any of the other 3 semi-finalists mentioned. but after the Canadian U17 win vs USA in CR I guess coaches from "powerhouse" nations are being more cautious in their interviews :-) :-)

One more key point: "...a good philosophy that filters through from the senior team all the way to the U15s. We play the same systems and take our time to get the younger players immersed in our style of play, and I believe the system is working in perfect tandem right now...."

(in our case, Rosenfeld vs Morace styles are NOT IN TANDEM and this to me is MIND-BOGGLING) no FURTHER COMMENT

I think having our young ladies playing at higher levels is starting to come out though back in Canada. We have quite a few U17-U18's on the rosters of W-League teams like Vancounver, Ottawa and Laval. At Laval they have U18's as starters... Have not checked the Lynx roster though.

But I believe part of the answer is also starting to give international exposure to players at a young age. If you check the German federation website you will see that their U15 national teams start going to int'l tournaments starting from U15... which means that they start preparing (holding camps etc) much earlier. The experience and maturity gained is invaluable.

[Vic]

There's really little comparison. W League seasons are 5-6 weeks. The Frauen-Bundesliga is the 2nd strongest league in the world (not the country) and runs 8 months. Players are paid.

Throw out the USA game and I actually thought our U17s played surprisingly controlled and similar to our senior women, at least as much as Morace's U20's. Both were a little more direct but that's the way women's youth soccer is. There's a lot of North/South because of the skill level. There's also lots of moments in play for going direct to keep opponents honest (i.e. the Julien breakaway against Norway) as well as some good direct attackers you want to maximize the usefulness of. If you have Lisa De Vanna on the field you would be well-suited to look to release her into space. That was what killed us in the last World Cup.

And yes, I think you are correct and he is being humble. Although the Dutch and Spanish have national leagues (not sure about the Irish), all their programs are at least a decade behind the Germans.

[Soccer9]

Maybe it looked that way, but the coaching style during camps and player picks says the opposite between our 2 coaches... and they don't speak to each other... so NO alignment :-(

[Vic]

Ireland does the unthinkable and wins 1-0 to end the German reign.

In the words of Irish coach Noel King: "Megan Campbell struck the game's only goal just before the break with a brilliant free-kick and conceded that she had 'never scored any goal like that before'... I think people expect the ferocious commitment from us, but I don't think they expect the organisation and skill that we showed. Both attacking skill and defensive skill, because there were times when we went at Germany and pinned them back."

And in the words of Germany's Ralf Peter: "The goal was a great shot. In that phase we were almost asking them to score against us. We played very badly in defence, did not press and up front we could not hold the ball. We played a catastrophic first half, and we should not be surprised to lose."

The other game saw Spain through to their second consecutive UEFA final beating the Dutch 3-0.

"Jorge Vilda's Spain side had by far the better of the opening half-hour. Captain Sampedro was a live-wire threat with her skill and bursts through from midfield, and her fine shot fizzed just wide early on. Sara Mérida also sent a drive narrowly past the post and her corner was nearly turned in by Sampedro.

It was no surprise when Spain finally went in front on 32 minutes. Raquel Pinel's fierce 20-metre effort was pushed out by Netherlands goalkeeper Robbin Huisman, but Sampredo was there to control the ball and shoot home from close range. The Netherlands rearguard, with skipper Kelly Zeeman prominent, had fought hard to stem the Spanish tide before their defences were finally breached but they created few threats of their own.

After the break Huismann pulled down an effort from Iraia Perez de Heredia, and the impressive Alexia Putellas Segura curled a free-kick wide as Spain threatened again. There were signs of a Netherlands revival in several dangerous counterattacks, but in the 52nd minute Pinel broke away to shoot from the edge of the area, the ball squeezing through Huisman's hands and bouncing into the net despite the keeper's desperate attempts to clear.

The Netherlands never stopped trying, but a comeback was beyond them and a Lazaro goal in added time completed Spain's perfect day."

So it's close and familiar neighbours Germany and Holland battling it out for bronze and the final World Cup berth this Saturday, while the loser between Ireland and Spain will end up in Group D with Canada, Brazil and Ghana.

All in all bad news for Mexico in Group B who get UEFA 3 - the Germany/Holland winner.

[Soccer9]

Incredible.... "a la" USA. Only difference is that Germany gets a second chance to qualify if thy win bronze.

[Vic]

Final is live on Eurosport at 7:30am EST this Saturday.

I believe the expression on her face above is "Argentina who?"

[Vic]

[Vic]

Two key pieces of info from the goalscorer below:

Ireland were not afraid and goalscorer Megan Campbell explained how her side's tactics ensured they would play Spain in Saturday's final.

"It's a great result for us and we deserved to win this game – the coach told us not to hold off, just like any other team does against Germany, and just go at them, give them a shock," Campbell told UEFA.com after her splendid long-range free-kick not only won the semi-final but also took Ireland into the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago from 5 to 25 September.

Ireland were full of running throughout the match, when many would have expected them to tire as a result of the immense effort put in to thwart the European champions. The pre-match routine had much to do with this. "We were the underdogs for this game," Campbell said. "We prepared with loads of rest and sleep to keep our legs fresh."

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I think it's great proof of the importance of rest before going into mental and physical battle.

[Vic]

What's astounding is the German goalie is extremely tall and back on her line - and is beaten on a 40 yard dead ball she should be prepared for.

Nice flash of Irish flair at 0:34

[Vic]

Midfielder-captain Amanda Sampedro, the "live-wire threat with her skill and bursts through from midfield" who also scored and helped Spain reach the World Cup with a 3-0 win over the Netherlands.

Spain's conclusive victory over the Netherlands to reach the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship final on Tuesday contained an array of positive elements, both tactically and individually.

Last year's runners-up looked an excellent unit with their movement, poise, pace and power in setting up a potentially enthralling final against the Republic of Ireland – conquerors of holders Germany – at Nyon's Colovray Stadium on Saturday. One of the architects of Spain's success was captain Amanda Sampedro, who impressed with her verve and passion in midfield, as well as a calm head when she pounced on a rebound to score the opener.

That repeated her feat of 2009, when she struck the first goal in their 2-0 last-four defeat of Norway. Sampedro is one of five survivors from last year's squad and the CDE Atlético de Madrid Féminas player is determined to use that experience as motivation on Saturday, her 17th birthday.

"Last year it was my first experience of a final tournament," Sampedro told UEFA.com. "I have great memories of it, because you can't find a better atmosphere or a better football level anywhere else. The advice I would give my team-mates is to enjoy this moment, as we will not often have the chance to be play in a European tournament."

Sampedro was relieved to make the breakthrough against a stubborn Netherlands rearguard. "It is always a great feeling to score, but to get the opening goal in a tournament like this, and set your team on their way to victory in the process, makes it even better," she said.

"We played very well in the semi-final but as a team you are always striving to do better and we'll be trying to take our performance up a level in the final," Sampedro added. "We didn't know what to expect against the Netherlands – we'd only seen bits and pieces of them – but we were able to settle down and play our game once we'd got the opening goal."

Once the celebrations had died down, thoughts turned to Ireland. "We are enjoying the experience here and we are enjoying the victory against the Netherlands," said Sampedro. "But we are focusing only on the final and we are really going to go for it. Every player dreams of playing in a final, so all the girls will be desperate to play on Saturday."

[Vic]

80 minutes and two 10 minute extra frames fail to produce a goal and Spain wins the shootout scoring on every attempt while the first two Irish shooters miss.

Game log

News, articles and photos

Spain clinch title in shoot-out

Published: Saturday 26 June 2010, 15.35CET

Spain 0-0 Republic of Ireland (aet, Spain win 4-1 on pens)

Goal attempts: Spain (4) / Ireland (1)

Fouls: Spain (8) / Ireland (5)

Spain goalkeeper Dolores Gallardo saved Ireland's first two penalties before Ana Maria Catala converted to clinch the trophy at Nyon's Colovray Stadium.

Spain won the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship for the first time, overcoming the Republic of Ireland in a penalty shoot-out after an absorbing final in Nyon had ended scoreless.

Beaten 7-0 in last year's showpiece by Germany – who Ireland deposed as champions in the semis – Spain had the better of play in the 100 minutes but it was only when spot kicks came that they were able to defeat a nation who had never even qualified for a European women's tournament before. Goalkeeper Dolores Gallardo saved the first two Ireland efforts from Rianna Jarrett and Jessica Gleeson before Ana Maria Catala converted the clincher to give Spain a title to go alongside their 2004 UEFA European Women's U19 Championship crown.

Although Spain settled more quickly into their rhythm, Ireland came closer to scoring in the opening exchanges, with Denise O'Sullivan narrowly failing to apply the requisite touch to Megan Campbell's left-wing cross. Ireland threatened again in the 16th minute but Gallardo was quick off her line to claim Laura Gutiérrez's headed back pass just when it seemed O'Sullivan would get to the ball first.

But Spain's dominance of possession was almost rewarded on the half-hour mark when Sara Mérida's left-wing cross was met by Gutiérrez but she headed over from close range. A minute later Spain put together the move of the match to prise open the Irish defence. Mérida, Raquel Pinel and Iraia Perez de Heredia exchanged passes to play Pinel through but she put her shot over the bar.

After half-time Spain continued where they left off with Pinel heading over and having another shot blocked in the penalty area. When Mérida played a corner short to Amanda Sampedro, the Spain captain's fierce shot was met by a one-handed save from Grace Moloney. Sampedro had the ball in the net a minute later but her effort was ruled out for offside.

Undaunted, Sampredo fired in another shot from the edge of the area on the hour which Moloney again turned behind, while from the resultant corner Ciara O'Brien cleared off the line. Ireland came close to the opener themselves after 65 minutes when Aileen Gilroy's shot from 25 metres was well saved by Gallardo. Near the end Gutiérrez ghosted in at the far post to meet Mérida's cross but her effort came back off the post with Moloney for once beaten.

With temperatures in Nyon in the high 20Cs, the tempo slowed in extra time with the only real chance coming when Mérida's well-struck 95th-minute free kick again brought a fine save from Moloney. However, it was Spain's keeper who starred in the shoot-out.

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Germany up 2-0 on the hour over the Dutch in the bronze match for the third berth.

[Vic]

Bit more of the Irish team Canada will be facing. Better quality on the link directly to youtube rather than the mini-player:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd2uhEroUGI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd2uhEroUGI

I think Mary McAleese is the real winner:

And Ireland didn't even come close to what Canada accomplished.

[Vic]

Germany claim third place

Published: Saturday 26 June 2010, 18.29CET

Netherlands 0-3 Germany

Lena Petermann, Melanie Leupolz and Silvana Chojnowski scored for deposed champions Germany to earn a trip to the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

Goal attempts: Netherlands (1) / Germany (10)

Fouls: Netherlands (14) / Germany (7)

Corners: Netherlans (1) / Germany (5)

Germany claimed third place in the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship with a comfortable victory against the Netherlands in Nyon.

Goals from Lena Petermann, Melanie Leupolz and Silvana Chojnowski ensured that Germany, winners of the two previous editions, will join Spain and the Republic of Ireland as Europe's representatives in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago from 5 to 25 September. The Netherlands had never lost a game in this competition before coming to Switzerland but were twice beaten 3-0 here.

Having suffered their first ever defeat at this level in Tuesday's 1-0 semi-final to the Republic of Ireland, Germany seemed to have bounced back well from that shock and dominated the opening half. Sarah Romert shot over from close range after four minutes and Petermann hit a left-foot shot just wide after 11 minutes.

Petermann came close again minutes later but Melissa van der Wiel in the Netherlands goal was quickly off her line to smother her effort. But she was not to be denied a third time, slotting home from the edge of the penalty area after 23 minutes to give Germany the lead.

They again threatened first after the restart, with Van der Wiel forced into a fine save from Jennifer Cramer's powerful free-kick. And just four minutes after replacing the injured Isabella Schmid, Leupolz picked up possession 30 metres from goal, created space for herself and arrowed a stunning shot into the top right corner. Chojnowski sealed the win with an assured close-range finish ten minutes from time.

Ralf Peter, Germany coach

We are very satisfied to qualify for Trinidad and Tobago. We know that in the first match we played very badly and we were very disappointed. In this match I was very happy with my team. We played well right from the start. And this is the kind of performance that I want to see from this team, this is the type of performance that I want to see in Trinidad and Tobago.

It is important that we learn to play a good first match because this is a problem for this team. In the first qualifying round we played very badly in the first match against Iceland but then in the second and third match we played very well. It was the same story in the second qualifying round where we started with a very bad performance against Austria and we followed that with a very, very good match against Norway which we won 4-0. And now in this final round it was the same: first match bad, second match good. That is what we want now to improve.

[The Ref]

Vic, do you have now a complete list of all 16 countries going to T&T?

[Vic]

Sure do.

GROUP A

Trinidad and Tobago

Chile

Nigeria

Korea DPR

GROUP B

Germany

Mexico

Korea Republic

South Africa

GROUP C

New Zealand

Venezuela

Spain

Japan

GROUP D

Republic of Ireland

Brazil

Canada

Ghana

September 6 @ 7:00pm EST: Canada v. Ghana

September 9 @ 4:00pm EST: Canada v. Republic of Ireland

September 13 @ 7:00pm EST: Canada v. Brazil

Match Calendar

The Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain will stage the final on 25 September

[Vic]

Coach Allotey Calls up 30 Maidens

Date: 17-Jun-2010

Ghana's junior women's team, the Black Maidens will get their preparations started for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup this weekend.

Coach Abraham Allotey has called up thirty girls to the Ghanaman Soccer Centre School of Excellence in Prampram to commence with training on Sunday, June 20.

The Black Maidens are picked one of the two qualifying places from the continent as Ghana secure a second successive appearance after the African round of qualifiers.

Ghana and Brazil are both paired in Group D alongside Canada and the second qualifying UEFA team. The 16-nation competition will start from 5 to 25 September in Trinidad and Tobago.

Invited Players:

Margaret Otoo, Ayishetu Simpson, Sawubi Issah, Agoabasidu Selina, Cynthia Boakye-Yiadom, Grace Adams, Linda Addai, Linda Smith, Felicia Djabaah, Sherifatu Sumaila, Jennifer Cudjoe, Alice Danso, Mary Essiful, Beatrice Sesu, Ellen Coleman, Regina Antwi, Rita Okyere, Kesewa Comfort Antwi, Priscilla Okyere, Abdul Rashida Rahman, Ernestina Adjetey, Wasila Diwura-Kasira, Rebecca Asante, Mary Tutuwah, Fauzia Nuhu, Abigail Sarfo, Ivy Kolli, Patience Narh, Sabina Sagoe

Maidens pummel Tunisia 7-0

Date: 18-Apr-2010

Ghana’s Under-17 female team took a giant step towards qualifying for the Fifa World Cup finals after a 7-0 annihilating of Tunisia in the final round first leg tie of the African qualifiers.

The Maidens took advantage of an own goal and punished the weaker Tunisian side by scoring two more goals thanks to Alice Danso.

Ghana sealed the first half 3-0 but after the interval, the Maidens accelerated by scoring four more; a single from Mary Essilful and hat-trick heroine Rita Okyere.

The Black Maidens are in good stead to pick one of the two African slots for the finals to be hosted by Trinidad and Tobago later in September.

Head coach Abraham Allotey’s girls have reduced the second leg in a fortnight to a mere training exercise.

Ghana played at the maiden Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.

[AlanDouglas]

Looks like the Canadian U-17s are off doing a camp, I'm guessing in Toronto. Three players were called up from the Whitecaps Prospects, missing our game this past Sunday: Abigail Raymer, Nicole Setterlund, and Vanessa Kovacs.

[Vic]

Correct you are. Ten days at the OSA.

http://www.canadasoccer.com/news/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=4332

[The Ref]

The U17 will be doing a 10 day camp in Santiago from July 25 to August 3, in the middle of Chile's Winter! Don't we have enough of Winters here at home? While there they will play 2 friendlies with the local squad.