Mexico triumph in regional battle to punch final ticket
Players of Mexico celebrate after winning the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018 semi-final match between Mexico and Canada at Estadio Charrua on November 28, 2018 in Montevideo, Uruguay. (Photo by Hector Vivas - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
MONTEVIDEO - The wet and cold weather was not enough to stop Mexico from booking a place in their first ever U-17 Women’s World Cup final at the Charrua stadium. They defeated fellow regional rivals Canada 1-0, Nicole Perez scoring the winning goal in the 25th minute.
The CONCACAF semi-final showdown was even until the 19th minute, when a run from Canadian Teni Akindoju from the left flank saw her attempt go wide across the bar.
Great leadership was shown by captain Jordan Huitema whose height (1.75m) propelled her to win most of the high balls, giving Silvana Flores a tough time.
The Canadians presented the Tricolor with an early Christmas gift when Alison Gonzalez stole the ball after a poor defensive clearance from Leonie Portelance. When trying to retrieve the ball, Portelance brought Gonzalez down inside the box. Penalty.
Captain Nicole Perez, who has enjoyed an outstanding tournament, made no mistake from the spot, sending the keeper the other way, scoring her third goal in five matches in the tournament.
Mexico went on the hunt with a newly found confidence, applying their speed to their advantage and releasing striker Vanessa Buso, who also wanted her name on the scoresheet. Fortunately for Canada, Anna Karpenko was alert and made a comfortable save.
The first half ended with a disallowed goal from Jordan Huitema, who had made a run from the halfway line, but her teammate Sonia Walk knocked down defender Tanna Carreto in an attempt to clear the path for her captain, placing her directly in front of goal to take the equalising shot. Russian referee Anastasia Pustovoitova immediately blew her whistle to disallowe the goal.
Canada opened the second half with two fresh pairs of legs on the pitch. Teni Akindoju was replaced by forward Kaila Novak, and Sonia Walk was benched in the place of Wayne Balata.
The Canadians threw everything at the Aztecas, but their defensive unit proved to be unbreakable. Mexico also made more use of their chances, first with a shot from Flores going over the bar, and then with another attempt by Perez, whose shot just slipped wide.
The CONCACAF tussle turned physical, leading to a head on collision between Caitlin Shaw and Silvana Flores, leaving the Canadian with a knee injury and a yellow card to add salt on the wound.
These two teams showed they are clearly familiar with each other’s playing style, making it an end-to-end game. In the 80th minute, an attempt by Huitema went high over the net. However, Canada remained resilient, taking their last grasp of air with 1 minute left of stoppage time, it was substitute Kaila Novak who stepped up to attempt to push for penalties, but the pendulum was swinging in favour of the Aztecas.
For the first time in their history, the U-17 Mexican team reached the World Cup final to set up a show piece game against Spain, next Saturday.
The CONCACAF semi-final showdown was even until the 19th minute, when a run from Canadian Teni Akindoju from the left flank saw her attempt go wide across the bar.
Great leadership was shown by captain Jordan Huitema whose height (1.75m) propelled her to win most of the high balls, giving Silvana Flores a tough time.
The Canadians presented the Tricolor with an early Christmas gift when Alison Gonzalez stole the ball after a poor defensive clearance from Leonie Portelance. When trying to retrieve the ball, Portelance brought Gonzalez down inside the box. Penalty.
Captain Nicole Perez, who has enjoyed an outstanding tournament, made no mistake from the spot, sending the keeper the other way, scoring her third goal in five matches in the tournament.
Mexico went on the hunt with a newly found confidence, applying their speed to their advantage and releasing striker Vanessa Buso, who also wanted her name on the scoresheet. Fortunately for Canada, Anna Karpenko was alert and made a comfortable save.
The first half ended with a disallowed goal from Jordan Huitema, who had made a run from the halfway line, but her teammate Sonia Walk knocked down defender Tanna Carreto in an attempt to clear the path for her captain, placing her directly in front of goal to take the equalising shot. Russian referee Anastasia Pustovoitova immediately blew her whistle to disallowe the goal.
Canada opened the second half with two fresh pairs of legs on the pitch. Teni Akindoju was replaced by forward Kaila Novak, and Sonia Walk was benched in the place of Wayne Balata.
The Canadians threw everything at the Aztecas, but their defensive unit proved to be unbreakable. Mexico also made more use of their chances, first with a shot from Flores going over the bar, and then with another attempt by Perez, whose shot just slipped wide.
The CONCACAF tussle turned physical, leading to a head on collision between Caitlin Shaw and Silvana Flores, leaving the Canadian with a knee injury and a yellow card to add salt on the wound.
These two teams showed they are clearly familiar with each other’s playing style, making it an end-to-end game. In the 80th minute, an attempt by Huitema went high over the net. However, Canada remained resilient, taking their last grasp of air with 1 minute left of stoppage time, it was substitute Kaila Novak who stepped up to attempt to push for penalties, but the pendulum was swinging in favour of the Aztecas.
For the first time in their history, the U-17 Mexican team reached the World Cup final to set up a show piece game against Spain, next Saturday.
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