Familiar enemy, familiar outcome.
The U.S. women’s team lost 1-0 to North Korea in the U-17 World Cup semifinals Wednesday night. This is the deepest the Americans are in this tournament since 2008, when they lost to North Korea in the final.
The U.S. women’s team is currently 0-1-3 against North Korea in the U-17 tournament. The U-20 team also lost to North Korea in last month’s World Cup.
Americans still have a chance to take home the hardware. In Sunday’s third-place match, they will face either England or back-to-back champions Spain, who defeated the United States in the group stage.
Meanwhile, North Korea will aim for its third U-17 title.
In the first half, both teams were evenly matched defensively, but North Korea gradually wore down the US women. In the 69th minute, Ro Eun-hyang converted Daya King’s failed clearance into the net. This was the first goal conceded by the USA since the opening game of the group stage.
Fortunately for the Americans, North Korea did not concede another point in second-half stoppage time, and there was a lot of movement in front of the American goal in the final three minutes.
The best chance for a goal for the U.S. women, which was actually their only chance as they had zero shots on target, came in the 41st when Mikayla Johnson sent a shot over the crossbar.
USA TODAY Sports provided updates, highlights and analysis throughout the U-17 Women’s World Cup semifinals.
No help from VAR this time
The US women didn’t get much help from VAR in the second half.
In the 82nd minute, captain Kennedy Fuller collided with Lee Ye-kyung and collapsed in the box. There was no whistle, and U.S. coach Katie Schaper raised an objection. However, unlike in the first half, when the USWNT got a reverse penalty call on Katie Scott, VAR did not work and there was no penalty for the play.
More subwoofers in the US
The U.S. women’s team made more substitutions in hopes of finding the tying goal.
Melanie Barcenas, who scored three goals this tournament, was replaced by Jayden Rodriguez in the 77th minute. Kimi Ascanio, who scored in the quarter-final match against Nigeria, also replaced Lee Lan Nguyen.
North Korea 1, USA 0: Ro Eun-hyang breaks the scoreless stalemate
North Korea has taken advantage of America’s mistakes and is now in the lead.
Ro Eun-hyang scored a goal in the 69th minute, once converting a missed clearance into the net. The goal was the first goal allowed by the U.S. women’s team since the group stage opener against Spain, maintaining a record that North Korea has never trailed in this tournament.
Both teams were almost evenly matched until the goal. However, Daya King, who had come on 10 minutes earlier, cleared the ball back into traffic. As the shot bounced, Law fired a laser attack right at it, scoring the winning goal.
fresh legs
The Americans made their first substitution, bringing on Daya King and Maddie Padelski in the 59th minute. They replaced Katie Scott and Mikayla Johnson, respectively.
yellow card to usa
Jocelyn Travers was shown her first yellow card of the game in the 47th minute. However, the American women’s team cleared the ensuing free kick, so it wasn’t a sacrifice.
First half scoreless
So, what did you expect from the two teams with the best defenses at the U-17 World Cup?
The U.S. women’s and North Korea’s semifinal matches were very evenly matched, with the first half ending scoreless. North Korea had one more shot (5) than the United States, but the opponent’s stingy defense made it difficult for both teams to convert into chances.
The USWNT’s best chance came in the 41st minute when Kimi Ascanio fed Mikayla Johnson deep in the box. Johnson provoked a North Korean defender, cleared and fired a shot, which went over the crossbar.
North Korea had two chances shortly after, one shot in the air and the other in the net.
The Americans grabbed a break five minutes into the match when Katie Scott’s penalty was canceled by VAR.
tough opponent
Judging from the rest of the tournament, it won’t be easy for the U.S. women to finish.
North Korea conceded just one goal in the first group stage match against Mexico in this tournament. It also fell short of that goal, which came when North Korea was already leading 3-0.
The one goal allowed was the highest among the 16 teams in the tournament.
penalty canceled
VAR was applied to the U.S. women’s team during the first key moment of the semifinals.
An early penalty against Katie Scott was canceled, denying North Korea an opportunity for an early goal.
Scott, who came off the bench against Nigeria and returned to the starting lineup, was whistled for a penalty kick by Choi Il-sung five minutes into the game. The referee said Scott clipped Choi as he went for the ball just outside the six-yard box.
However, the United States appealed, and coach Scott immediately signaled to the bench to contest the penalty, which was overturned after review by a video assistant referee.
How to watch USA vs. North Korea at the U-17 World Cup
The game begins at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FS1 and Telemundo.
Who are the American women’s players?
Since it’s a youth World Cup, it’s probably North Korea.
This will be the ninth time U.S. women have played against North Korea in the U-17 or U-20 World Cup. They have played against each other three times in the U-17 World Cup so far, with North Korea winning the first tournament in the 2008 final, defeating a team featuring Crystal Dunn, Sam and Christie Muth.
And just last month, the USWNT lost to North Korea in the semifinals of the U-20 World Cup. North Korea won that tournament, and the U.S. women defeated the Netherlands to take home the bronze medal.
US starting 11 vs. North Korea
U.S. coach Katie Schaper will return to a familiar lineup.
Katie Scott and Mikayla Johnson came off the bench in the quarterfinals but were in the starting lineup for Wednesday night’s semifinal against North Korea. Scott and Johnson both started the final two games for the U.S. group.
The rest of the lineup remains unchanged.
Goalkeeper: Evan Ostin
Defender: Katie Scott, Trinity Armstrong, Chiara Gilmore, Jocelyn Travers
Midfielder: Ainsley McCammon, Kennedy Fuller (captain), Kimi Ascanio, Melanie Barcenas
forward: Mikayla Johnson, Mary Long
U-17 Women’s World Cup quota
Who is on this team?
The U-17 World Cup is open to players born on or after January 1, 2007, so high school players or players in the early stages of entering university will mainly participate. But in a sign of progress in the game, this U.S. team includes professional players for the first time. There are four, all midfielders: Angel City’s Kennedy Fuller; Melanie Barcenas and Kimi Ascanio of the San Diego Wave. and Ainsley McCammon of the Seattle Reign.
All four are firmly in the starting lineup, with Fuller and Barcenas leading the team with three goals each.
Fun fact: Bárcenas wears number 13 for the U.S. national team. This is the same jersey made famous by former Wave teammate Alex Morgan. Barcenas texted Morgan a photo of himself in the new jersey, and Morgan posted it on Instagram with the caption, “Need 1 adult medium and 2 kids small.”
Has the USWNT ever won the U-17 World Cup?
No, the best performance was in 2008, when the tournament was first held. The United States advanced to the final and lost to North Korea 2-1 in overtime.
How did the USWNT make it to the semifinals?
The United States lost to two-time U-17 World Cup champion Spain in the opening game of the group stage. However, they bounced back with wins over Colombia and South Korea and advanced to the final tournament in second place in their group.
Kennedy Fuller had one goal and one assist in the USWNT’s 2-0 victory over Nigeria in the quarterfinals. It was the third consecutive clean sheet for the U.S. team, and the first such feat at the U-17 World Cup.
Where will the U-17 World Cup be held?
dominican republic.
The match between the United States and North Korea will be held in Santiago de los Caballeros, while the other semi-final, between defending champions Spain and England, will be played in Santo Domingo. The final and third place match will both be held in Santo Domingo on November 3rd.
Members of the U.S. U17 Women’s World Cup team
Goalkeeper (3): Wicki Dunlap (North Carolina Courage Academy), Evan Osteen (Solar SC), Molly Vapenski (Carolina Ascent),
Defender (6): Trinity Armstrong (UNC), Kiara Gilmore (FC Dallas), Jordyn Hardeman (Solar SC), Daya King (Legends FC), Katie Scott (Penn State), Jocelyn Travers (FC Bay Area) Surf)
Midfielder (7): Scottie Antonucci (Legends FC), Kimi Ascanio (San Diego Wave), Melanie Barcenas (San Diego Wave), Kennedy Fuller (Angel City FC), Ainsley McCammon (Seattle Reign), Jayden Rodriguez (San Diego)・Surf), Y Lan Nguyen (Virginia Development Academy)
Forward (5): Anna Babcock (Crossfire Premier SC), Mikayla Johnson (Michigan Hawks), Mary Long (Duke), Maddie Padelski (Alabama), Leena Powell (Tudela FC)
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