From August 5 to 24, Canada will once again play host to the best young, up-and-coming soccer players around the globe for the seventh staging of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Canada was the site of the first-ever edition of the tournament in 2002, which concluded with USA knocking out the hosts for the inaugural crown.
Aside from being the maiden champions, the Americans are also the current defending champions after winning it for the third time in 2012. Will the Americans win it for a record fourth time? Or will Germany nail its second World Cup of the year?
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Women’s U20 World Cup Preview and Prediction
Favorites – USA, Germany
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Heading into the 2014 edition of the biennial event, Team USA looks to be in great form to win the championship again after totally demolishing the field in the recent 2014 CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship.
In that tournament, USA brought the hammer down hard on their opponents, scoring 29 goals in five games overall, while allowing zero goals, including the Americans’ 4-0 evisceration of Mexico in the final.
In a tournament played mostly by players with little to no experience on such a grand stage, coach Michelle French is lucky to have defenders Cari Roccaro and Stephanie Amack in the fold. Both players were part of the winning squad in 2012, and their experience will be valuable to the young team, which is trying to buck the pressure of being a pre-tournament favorite.
The runner-ups in the 2012 tournament, the Germans return to the World Cup figuring to be the biggest challenger to the USA’s quest to bag its second-consecutive title. The Germans qualified for the tournament after making the semifinal of the 2013 UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship.
The Germans boast a roster brimming with talented players with experience not only at the junior level but also in the senior and pro ranks. One of them is striker Pauline Bremer, who is under contract with 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam. Bremer was the top scorer in the 2013 UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship, finishing with six goals, while leading the team to the title.
The two favorites are in the same round robin group at this tournament and figure to provide one of the best games of the early going on Tuesday in Edmonton. The match will likely define which team wins the group and takes the easier path through the elimination stage.
Update: The Germans won the key tilt with the Americans, 2-0, outlasting the USA in a well-played game to take an early lead in Group B. Create a betting account now and cash in on the world-class soccer matches happening now in Canada.
Sleepers – Canada, North Korea
Canada does not have a rich history in the tournament, having failed to get past the group stages in each of the last five World Cups. But even with the lack of success in this non-hockey tournament, expect the home crowd to buoy the spirits of their young ladies.
If the Canadians make it to the top two of Group B, they’ll likely run up against the Germans or Americans. While winning a game against either of the two is a daunting task for this squad, the Canadians would not be pushovers, given that they have players with experience playing with the senior team.
Among them are Sura Yekka, Kadeisha Buchanan, Jessie Fleming and a Kinley McNicoll, who could lead the team into doing serious damage in the tournament against any given opponent.
Playing in the same group as the Canadians is the team from North Korea. The secretive nation is represented by a team on a not-so covert mission to reclaim the title they won in 2006, when they pummeled neighbor China in the final, 5-0. The North Koreans qualified in the World Cup after finishing second in the 2013 AFC Under-19 Women’s Championship.
Update: the Canadians lost their opener on Tuesday, 1-0, to a resilient Ghanaian team that is now poised to advance out of Group A, unless the Canadians can pull off a victory against North Korea.
Writer’s Predictions
In what should be a hard-fought tournament, the teams that can produce early will stand strong in Canada.
Group Prediction
Group
Teams
Top 2 (in order)
A
North Korea, Ghana, Canada, Finland
North Korea, Canada
B
U.S.A., Germany, China, Brazil
Germany, U.S.A.
C
England, South Korea, Mexico, Nigeria
South Korea, Nigeria
D
New Zealand, Paraguay, France, Costa Rica
France, Costa Rica
In the elimination round, look for a complete German team to run the table and claim the championship undefeated in the tournament.
