NEWS

 

he Japan Under-20 women’s side will play Canada, Congo DR and Germany in Group C in the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile (November 19-December 7), it was announced following the draw on Saturday in Santiago, Chile.

Japan, making their first appearance since the 2002 edition, will start their campaign against CONCACAF champions Canada on November 20 and meet European champions Germany on November 23, both in Santiago, before moving to Chillan to play Congo on November 27. Congo finished among the top two in this year’s African Under-20 Women’s Championship.
In other groups, defending champions DPR Korea will play in Group D along with Mexico, Norway and Brazil, who finished third in the 2006 version. Hosts Chile have been drawn to Group A with England, New Zealand and Nigeria.
Group B features China, the 2006 runners-up, alongside Argentina, France and the United States, who finished among the top four in all three previous tournaments.
The top two finishers from each group will advance to the quarterfinals on November 30-December 1. The semifinals will take place on December 4. The final and the third place playoff will be staged on December 7 in Santiago.
“Our group is made of strong sides from each continent,” said Japan Under-20 women’s coach Norio Sasaki, who guided the Nadeshiko Japan to fourth place in the recent Beijing Olympics.
“Our final target is to reach the last four in the tournament, as we did with the Nadeshiko Japan in the recent Olympics. However, we first have to work hard to play our style of football and get through the group stage,” Sasaki noted.