The sixth edition of the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup started on Tuesday in Uruguay, with 16 teams competing in four groups:
∙ Group A: Uruguay, Ghana, New Zealand, Finland
∙ Group B: Brazil, Japan, Mexico, South Africa
∙ Group C: United States, Cameroon, North Korea, Germany
∙ Group D: South Korea, Spain, Canada, Colombia
The games will be played in Montevideo, Colonia del Sacramento and Maldonado with the group stage continuing through the 21st. The playoff round – for the top two in each group – will start on the 24th, with the medal matches on 1 December.
North Korea is the defending champion and the only team to win more than once in the first five tournaments. Asian teams have dominated, with North Korea winning in 2008-16, South Korea in 2010 and Japan in 2014. France won in 2012. In the 2016 medal matches, North Korea defeated Japan on penalty kicks, and Spain won the bronze over Venezuela, 4-0.
The U.S. is making its fourth appearance in this tournament, with a best of second back in 2008, its only appearance in the medal round. It was eliminated in the group stage in 2016. But the U.S. won the 2018 CONCACAF qualifying tournament, 3-2, over Mexico in June and could figure strongly in Uruguay.
Look for match results and standings here.
