- Amercans Face Stiff Test in Quarterfinals Against Germany
- Jessica Rostedt Scores Winning Goal for USA in 61st Minute
- Americans Travel to St. Petersburg to Face Germany on Aug. 27
MOSCOW, Russia (Aug. 24, 2006) – The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team finished Group D play at the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship with a well-deserved 1-0 win over France at Dynamo Stadium as forward Jessica Rostedt scored the game-winner in the 61st minute. With the victory, the USA wins the group and will face Group C second-place finisher Germany in the quarterfinals on Sunday, Aug. 27, at Petrovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg. That match kicks off at 7 p.m. local / 11 a.m. ET and fans can follow the action live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.
With both the USA and France already through to the quarterfinal round, this match was to determine the order of placement within the group. With the victory, the USA has won all nine first round games it has played at FIFA youth women’s world championships and is one of just three teams in this year’s tournament, along with China and North Korea, to take maximum points from group play.
Both Germany and North Korea won their final Group C matches easily, giving the group title to North Korea, which will face France in the first game of the Aug. 27 quarterfinal doubleheader in St. Petersburg. The USA-Germany clash is a rematch of the semifinal at the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in Thailand where the Germans defeated the United States, 3-1.
The U.S. goal came in the 61st minute on a quickly taken throw-in from the left flank. Midfielder Tina DiMartino found Rostedt, who spun toward the goal, took a few touches as she dribbled square across the top of the penalty area and then ripped a dipping shot from 20 yards out under French goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi and into the lower left corner. It was Rostedt’s second goal of the tournament and the first goal given up by France in this competition.
The match marked the first minutes in the world championship for U.S. forward Lauren Cheney, who recovered from an abdominal strain to play the entire match. Cheney, along with fellow forwards Amy Rodriguez and Rostedt, put pressure on the French goal the entire match, and showed her excitement to play by rocketing a half-volley over the goal just five minutes into the match.
The USA out shot France 17-14, but the young Americans put just four shots on goal while France had nine on target. U.S. goalkeeper Val Henderson played a splendid match for the USA, saving all nine shots while catching some tough balls in traffic as well.
Rodriguez came off at halftime, but had two great chances in the first 45 minutes, the first coming just 11 minutes in when she made a run up the middle off a counter-attack and Cheney found her with a square pass. Rodriguez glided into the penalty area, but chopped her left-footed shot just wide right of the goal from 17 yards out.
She had another good scoring opportunity in 17th minute as Cheney let a square pass from DiMartino roll by her at the top of the penalty area right into the path of Rodriguez. The U.S. forward got a good strike on the ball, but sent it wide right of the net from 19 yards away.
Almost all of France’s attack came from the speed of forward Elodie Thomis, who got behind the U.S. defense in the 17th minute. Defender Nikki Krzysik got a toe to the ball, pushing it a bit wider inside the penalty area, forcing Thomis to strke her shot wide left of the goal.
In the 30th minute, defender Tobin Heath, who played another excellent match for the USA in the back, got free in the right side of the penalty area and then cut a cross on the ground back to the charging Cheney, but the U.S. forward overran the ball eliminating the chance to knock it into the net. The French countered on that missed chance and Thomis got free behind Krzysik again, but as the U.S. defender leaned into her, Henderson made a brilliant reaction save of the French forward’s shot from 17 yards out, flipping up her right arm to deflect the ball for a corner kick.
In stoppage time of the first half, Heath went on the dribbling run of the match, winning a ball in midfield before eluding three players at top speed. The final one, Emilie Hullier, took her down at the top of the penalty area and was cautioned. Brittany Bock got a good strike on the freekick, but sent it right at Bouhaddi.
France had its best sequence in the 54th minute as Carrie Dew cleared a ball right to the top of the penalty area and Sabrina Belannoy cracked a shot through traffic from 20 yards out. It was well-saved by Henderson, but she gave up a rebound and had to throw her body at Amandine Henry’s close-range shot to smother it away from danger.
Henderson caught the ensuing corner kick in heavy traffic and her punt found Rostedt running past the French defense. The U.S. forward tried to loop it over Bouhaddi, but it dropped just over the crossbar as the French ‘keeper flew back into her net.
Midfielder Amanda Poach came on at halftime, and when she was joined by Allie Long in the center of the park for the USA in the 58th minute, the U.S. team started to totally control the match. The tired French started to lose their creativity and relied instead on long balls to Thomis, all of which were run down by the U.S. back line of Stephanie Lopez, Dew, Krzysik and Heath, who put together a stellar overall match as a unit.
In the 69th minute, Cheney popped free behind the French defense in the left side of the penalty area and tried to spin a right-footed shot over Bouhaddi, but the ‘keeper was able to push it over the top of the goal. In the last 15 minutes of the game, Dimartino started to make an impact down the right flank, earning several free-kicks and sending in several probing crosses. Rostedt also had several chances to add to the lead, the best coming in stoppage time as DiMartino bent an early ball in from the right wing. Rostedt and the scrambling Bouhaddi met the ball at the same time and the French ‘keeper smothered the close-range chance.
With Cheney back from injury and Kelley O’Hara returning from suspension after getting a red card against Argentina, the USA will be at full strength for the Germany match.
In the other quarterfinal match-ups, Brazil will face Nigeria in what is sure to be an electric match and China will face hosts Russia. Both of those games will be played on Aug. 26 at Torpedo Stadium in Moscow.
- U.S. UNDER-20 WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT -
Match-up: USA vs. France
Competition: 2006 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Championship – Group D
Venue: Dynamo Stadium – Moscow, Russia
Date: August 24, 2006; Kickoff – 7 p.m. local time / 11 a.m. ET
Attendance: 300
Weather: Cloudy, windy – 72 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 1 1
FRA 0 0 0
USA – Jessica Rostedt (Tina DiMartino) 61st minute.
Lineups:
USA -- 1-Val Henderson; 11-Tobin Heath, 15-Carrie Dew, 4-Nikki Krzysik, 6-Stephanie Lopez - C; 13-Tina DiMartino, 5-Sarah Wagenfuhr (7-Amanda Poach, 46), 10-Brittany Bock (14-Allie Long, 58); 2-Jordan Angeli, 8-Lauren Cheney, 12-Amy Rodriguez (17-Jessica Rostedt, 46).
Subs not used: 3-Stephanie Logterman, 9-Danesha Adams, 16-Erin Hardy, 18-Kelsey Davis, 20-Casey Nogueira, 21-Joanna Haig.
Suspended: 19-Kelley O’Hara
Head Coach: Tim Schulz
FRA -- 16-Sarah Bouhaddi; 2-Sabrina Delannoy, 3-Laure Boulleau – C (14-Ines Dhaou, 74), 5-Coralie Ducher (13-Elodie Cordier, 42), 11-Melodie Coudray; 15-Emilie Huillier, 6-Caroline Pizzala, 8-Meriame Ben Abdelwahab, 10-Louisa Necib, 20-Amandine Henry (18-Marie-Laure Delie, 63), 9-Elodie Thomis.
Subs not used: 1-Veronique Pons, 4-Morgane Courteille, 7-Jessica Houara, 12-Gwenaelle Pele, 17-Helene Houllier, 19-Livia Jean, 21- Audrey Arraby.
Head Coach: Stephane Pilard
Statistical Summary: USA / FRA
Shots: 17 / 13
Shots on Goal: 4 / 9
Saves: 9 / 3
Corner Kicks: 7 / 7
Fouls: 15 / 18
Offside: 2 / 1
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Tobin Heath (caution) 16th minute.
FRA – Caroline Pizzala (caution) 27.
FRA – Emilie Hullier (caution) 47+
USA – Amanda Poach (caution) 85.
Officials:
Referee: Hong Eun Ah (KOR)
Asst. Referee: Liu Hisu Mei (TPE)
Asst. Referee: Sarah Ho (AUS)
4th Official: Tammy Ogston (AUS)
Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Val Henderson
2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship - Group D Standings
| Team |
W |
L |
T |
Pts. |
GF |
GA |
GD |
| USA |
3 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
7 |
2 |
+5 |
| FRA |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
+5 |
| ARG |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
-4 |
| COD |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
-6 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aug. 18
USA 2, DR Congo 1
France 5, Argentina 0
Aug. 21 USA 4, Argentina 1 France 1, DR Congo 0
Aug. 24 Argentina 4, DR Congo 0
USA 1, France 0 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship -
Quarterfinal Match-Ups
| Date |
Teams |
Stadium (Venue) |
Kickoff local / ET |
| Aug. 26 |
Brazil vs. Nigeria |
Torpedo (Moscow) |
4 p.m. / 8 a.m. |
| Aug. 26 |
China vs. Russia |
Torpedo (Moscow) |
7 p.m. / 11 a.m. |
| Aug. 27 |
North Korea vs. France |
Petrovsky (St. Petersburg) |
4 p.m. / 8 a.m. |
| Aug. 27 |
USA vs. Germany |
Petrovsky (St. Petersburg) |
7 p.m. / 11 a.m. |
| |
|
|
|
- U.S. U-20 WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM QUOTE SHEET -
U.S. head coach Tim Schulz
On the match:
“France is strong. They are one of the top teams in the world, very organized and very tough to break down. But on the flipside, we played very well. We got in behind them a lot and had a good half dozen chances up to 10, so I’m happy with team.”
On the U.S. back line:
“They were solid. They read play nicely, they dropped at the right times and what I liked most about them is that they started the attack cleanly.”
On forward Lauren Cheney getting her first minutes:
“Cheney is tough, that’s why she’s a Women’s National Team player. She is strong up top, adds a different component to our game and she has some leadership qualities.”
On forward Jessica Rostedt:
“Rostedt was dynamic and explosive. She got in behind, she was very good in anticipating where the ball would pop out and she added a lot of combination play in the game for us.”
On facing Germany:
“Given that the tactics and the skill level are equal, the game will come down to a lot of grit. It will be a battle. I’m looking forward to it.”
On the improvement of play from the 2004 U-19 WWC tournament to 2006 U-20 WWC:
“I think that in Thailand, there were three, maybe four good teams. The women’s game has grown tremendously, and in my opinion, all of the final eight teams here play good football. There’s parity and diversity. You’ve seen different regions being represented. Each one of us coaches thinks we are going to win, but in reality this is going to be tight now. Every game is going to be close and I don’t think you’ll see any big scores. It’s going to be entertaining. I’ve watched Germany play, and many of the other teams, and I didn’t have a preference to play anyone. I think they all are going to be tough.”
France head coach Stephane Pilard
On the match:
“They were the best team tonight, and even though I am disappointed with the defeat, I am proud of our players, because it was a difficult game for the USA.”
On playing Germany or North Korea:
“Korea or Germany is the same. We saw both teams and both are very good. It will be a different game, because at the end, one team goes on. We had a new experience playing against the USA tonight. We’ve never played against the USA before, so for the players, it was a new experience and I hope it will help the team against the Koreans.”
Defender Stephanie Lopez
On the match:
“It was our best overall game for sure. France had some talented attacking players and I felt the back line stayed very organized and we covered for each other very well. I was very excited about the approach our team took for this game. We picked up the intensity even though we knew we were already going through to the quarterfinals. France is a good team, but I think we went at them from the start and were able to put pressure on them and play good possession soccer.”
On the Germany match:
“After tonight’s game, we set our focus on Germany and we know it will be an intense match. Both teams have a lot of history with each other, both teams have talented players all over the field and both countries have great women’s national team programs. It will be a match that will truly test our team in all areas of the game.”
Forward Jessica Rostedt
On the match:
“I felt like we played a very good game today. We were more consistent and possessed the ball pretty well and we definitely were super solid in the back. France is a very good team, and they put up a good fight, but we probably created more good chances and 1-0 was a pretty deserved score.”
On her goal:
“When I turned to the goal, no one pressured me at all so I drove to the goal and Cheney gave me a good pick, blocking one of the their defenders, so I could take another touch. I looked up and saw where their goalie was and found the corner with my shot.”
On coming on at halftime:
“I knew I had to come in with a lot of energy. I just wanted to help us get chances on goal and we were able to combine for a few good ones. We still need to sharpen our finishing, but our ability to get behind the French was good today.”
Goalkeeper Val Henderson
On the match:
“France was definitely our toughest opponent so far and we continue to rise to the occasion and do what we need to do to win, but I feel our best games are still ahead of us. It was the first shutout so far in the tournament, so that was one of our goals. I was just trying to play solid in the back, play confident and keep us organized because we had players running through from the midfield. I think we did a good job of picking those players up.”
On playing her first minutes of the tournament:
“So far, I’ve been working hard in practice and I’m eager to play. I wanted to come in and be a leader on the field and help our team win. I try to be vocal to help us stay organized, focused and confident and the team played an excellent game today. We got a taste of what is to come and we are all very excited about the Germany match.”
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