August 6 – France kicked off the U-20 Women’s World Cup on home soil with an emphatic 4-1 win over Ghana, on an opening day of the tournament held plenty of surprises with defending champions DPR Korea slipping to defeat against England, debutants the Netherlands defeating New Zealand and Mexico recording a first-ever win over Brazil.
DPR Korea hadn’t lost a game since August 2014 when they were defeated in the third-place play off by France before going on to win the 2016 edition of the tournament, but in their opening game of Group B they were overcome by the impressive English. Alice Russo scored a brace for England as her team won 3-1.
Earlier in the day, Mexico had sprung a surprise against Brazil, winning 3-1 with the Clos Gastel Stadium in Dinan-Lehon quickly becoming a graveyard for the traditional powerhouses.
Brittany is hosting this 16-team tournament with Saint-Malo, Vannes and Concarneau the other host venues. Next year France will stage the senior Women’s World Cup across nine cities with the Parc des Princes in Paris, Parc OL in Lyon and the Allianz Riviera in Nice among the main venues. The current tournament will culminate with the final on August 24.
In Group A alongside the hosts, the Netherlands enjoyed a dream debut with a 2-1 win over New Zealand. Eva van Deursen scored the winning goal in the 78th minute.
In today’s pick of the games, Germany take on Nigeria, a repeat of the 2010 and 2014 finals. The Nigerians have never missed a single edition of the U-20 Women’s World Cup. In Group C the United States will play Japan.
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