Two tight semifinals produced victories for Japan and Spain, who will meet on Friday (24th) for the championship in the FIFA women’s U-20 World Cup in Vennes (FRA).
The Spanish eked out a 1-0 victory in a battle of group winners vs. host France on a goal in the 51st minute from Patri Guijarro. They then had to hold on after a red card was issued in the 69th minute to Aitana Bonmati and the Spanish had to hold up with 10 players for the final 21 minutes of the match.
In the other semi, Japan took care of business in the first half, with goals from Riko Ueki in the 22nd minute and Jun Endo in the 27th minute to take a 2-0 lead over England. That proved to be enough, as Hannah Stambaugh turned away two shots on goal.
So the final will pit the two top teams of Group C: winner Spain (now 4-0-1) and runner-up Japan (4-1-0). They played back on 9 August, with Spain winning by 1-0 on a Carmen Menayo goal in the 16th minute.
France and England will meet for the bronze medal earlier on Friday. Look for match results here.
