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THE DAY REPLAYED – Nigeria and France overcame New
Zealand and Korea Republic respectively to book the last two
places in the semi-finals of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World
Cup 2014.

Coach Peter Dedevbo’s team were the embodiment of
efficiency and strength in their game against New Zealand.
The Falconets took a 2-0 lead inside just 12 minutes and
used the rest of the match to reinforce their superiority. The
West African side now face their third successive semi-final
at this tournament after Germany 2010 and Japan 2012.
The competition’s Asian teams are proving to be formidable
opponents. After Korea DPR knocked defending champions
USA out of the tournament, France also struggled against
Korea Republic in the last quarter-final game. Penalties were
needed to decide the result after 120 goalless minutes.
Results
Quarter-final
Nigeria 4-1 New Zealand
France 0-0 Korea Republic (aet., France win 4-3 on penalties)
Goal of the day
Nigeria 2-0 New Zealand, Asisat Oshoala (12’)
The Nigerian No4 was unstoppable in the match against New
Zealand, scoring her team’s opener before finding the net
again just a few minutes later. Chinwendu Ihezuo sent a long
ball forward to Oshoala, who then accelerated towards goal
and cleverly wrong-footed her opponent before sinking the
ball past the helpless goalkeeper and into the New Zealand
net from short range.
Memorable moments
Scoring in a hurry
If there is one team that has been particularly hasty about
scoring goals at this U-20 Women’s World Cup, it is Nigeria.
During the group stages, the Falconets scored against Korea
Republic after just 18.071 seconds – the fastest goal in the
tournament’s history – before getting off to a similarly brisk
start against New Zealand. The referee had barely signalled
the start of the match before the ball nestled in the net for the
first time. This time Oshoala managed to score after 32
seconds, giving her the second-fastest strike in the history of
the competition.
Durand’s double save
The second half of France’s encounter with Korea Republic
was just a few minutes old when Solene Durand made her
mark on the game. Marine Dafeur gave away a penalty after
felling Lee Geummin in the penalty box. Lee Sodam stepped
up to convert the spot-kick but could not get past Durand,
who dived to her right and parried the ball clear before
quickly climbing back to her feet to stop Namgung Yeji’s
follow-up shot.
Stability vs. rotation
The strength of the French squad is clear when you look at
the minutes played by each member. All of Les Bleuettes’
players have now featured except for third-choice goalkeeper
Deborah Garcia. Griedge MBock Bathy is the only
Frenchwoman to have started and completed every minute of
her team’s games in the tournament. Meanwhile, the situation
within the Korea Republic squad is very different. Coach Jong
Songchon opted for stability, retaining the same starting line-
up throughout apart from Park Yeeun, who was forced to
miss the game after picking up two yellow cards.
Capturing the moment
While Nigeria’s players danced around and celebrated with
fans after sealing their passage to the semi-final, coach
Dedevbo chose a more unusual way to express his joy:
rolling around the pitch with a broad grin on his face.
Determined not to miss out, Patience Okaeme recorded it all
on a video camera to ensure the moment was immortalised
forever.
The stat
700 – It seems almost as if Nigeria had planned to reach this
special landmark at Canada 2014. By scoring in the 90th
minute, Uchechi Sunday notched her country’s 700th goal at
an U-20 Women’s World Cup.
The words
“I’m very satisfied with what we achieved, and now I’m ready
for North Korea. I know their team, I know their coach, and I
want to beat them at all costs,” Peter Dedevbo, Nigeria coach
Next matchday
Wednesday 20 August 2014 (all times local)
Semi-finals (Moncton and Montreal)
Korea DPR – Nigeria, 17.00
Germany – France, 19.00