Welcome to Adeke Emmanuel's football blog

The moment of truth has arrived in Groups C and D, with
hopes of progress accompanying fears of elimination for the
teams in contention. Only Nigeria and France enjoy relative
security ahead of their final outings, whereas the future hangs
in the balance for Group C trio England, Mexico and Korea
Republic and Group D sides Paraguay, New Zealand and
Costa Rica.

Match of the day
Nigeria-England, Edmonton, 13 August, 18.00 (local time)

Nigeria are the only team in the group to have won a match
so far, seeing off Korea Republic last time out thanks to a
blistering start and the fastest goal in the history of the
competition. That win has left them in a strong position as
they prepare to face England, with a single point sufficient to
take them through and even a defeat not disastrous providing
Mexico fail to overcome Korea Republic. Their European rivals
require victory, on the other hand, unless both matches end in
draws with the same scoreline. In that case, Nigeria would
advance and England would face a drawing of lots with
Mexico for the right to join them in the quarter-finals.

The other matches
Almost anything can still happen in Group C, so Mexico will
be desperate to take matters into their own hands by
downing Korea Republic. That would send them safely
through to the last eight, though if they draw they must hope
England fail to prevail as well. As for their opponents, the only
team in the section to have suffered a loss, they can settle for
nothing less than victory while keeping their fingers crossed
that Nigeria lose – and even then, they must win by two
goals or hope Nigeria lose by two. All clear?
The situation is a little less murky in Group D, especially for
section leaders France. Having won both their games and
racked up an array of goals in the process, Les Bleuettes can
make do with a stalemate against Paraguay, and can even
lose as long as New Zealand fail to overtake their goal
difference in a success against Costa Rica. In Paraguay's
case, they will progress with a win – providing they too
maintain their goal-difference superiority over New Zealand –
or a draw if the Kiwis miss out on a victory. Lastly, Las Ticas
need to prevail by a handsome margin and hope Paraguay
lose, with their chances diminished by a pair of reverses thus
far. Well, we did say it was complicated.

Player to watch
Jang Selgi has yet to open her account at Canada 2014, but
the Korea Republic captain will be eager to put that right
against Mexico and help the Taeguk Ladies claim a ticket to
the quarter-finals. Alternatively, the forward could help out in
defence if her team look set to advance in the final minutes,
drawing on her experience as a full-back when Korea
Republic triumphed at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
Trinidad and Tobago 2010.

The stat
9 – The number of goals scored by France since the start of
the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Canada 2014, making
them the most prolific team on show. Paraguay will clearly
need to be at their most vigilant, particularly with Claire
Lavogez having plundered three goals and served up two
assists in just 123 minutes of action.

The words
"After the first game, we were all neck and neck. We will have
to put in another hard-fought performance against England. If
we play at the same level we managed today, we'll definitely
take the three points at the end," Courtney Dike, Nigeria forward.

Match schedule
Group C
Korea Republic-Mexico (Toronto, 20.00)
Nigeria-England (Edmonton, 18.00)
Group D
Paraguay-France (Edmonton, 15.00)
Costa Rica-New Zealand (Toronto, 17.00)
(All times local)