BHUBANESWAR: It was a must-win game for India’s U-17 women’s football team. After suffering a 8-0 defeat against USA in the U-17 World Cup opener, they had to get something out of their second match against Morocco to stay in contention.
However, after a goalless first-half on Friday, India conceded three unanswered goals to crash out of the marquee event. El Madani (50’), Yasmine Zouhir (61’) and Cherif Djennah (90+1’) scored for the winners. India will next play against Brazil on October 17.
After scripting an emphatic 8-0 victory against hosts India, strong USA team faced a tough challenge from one of the favourite teams, Brazil, in a Pool A league match here on Friday. In a fascinating back and forth game, both teams could not break the 1-1 deadlock in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup at Kalinga Stadium here on Friday.
In the end, young Brazilian goalkeeper Leilane made all the difference in the second league match of the Pool. She was adjudged the player of the match. Both teams started the match positively and wanted to secure full points. In the 33rd minute USA got the lead when Nicollette Kiorpes found the net through Onyeka Gamero’s pass. Within four minutes, in a counter attack, Brazilian striker Carol nailed the equaliser with a powerful long distance kick.
The second half, though USA intensified their attack the Brazilian custodian Leilane stood tall to deny them a win. The USA had better ball positioning than Brazil. However the match ended in a draw.