U.S. Under-16 Girls’ National Team Defeats Denmark, 4-0, in Second Match of UEFA Development Tournament in Türkiye
USA Gets Scores from Tatum Gardner, Koi Edwards and Anaya Bursey Plus an Own Goal
SIDE, Türkiye (Feb. 23, 2026) – The U.S. Under-16 Girls’ National Team downed Denmark 4-0 in its second match of the UEFA Development tournament that also features England and Denmark.
The USA will finish the tournament against England on Feb. 26. In the other match, Spain and England drew 2-2 and then Spain won 4-2 in penalty kicks. Spain sits atop the standings with five points while the USA and Denmark have three each and England has one point.
In order to win the tournament, the USA would need to defeat England and hope that Denmark beats Spain. If Denmark and Spain tie, and the USA wins, the young Americans would still finish second no matter the result of the Denmark-Spain penalty kick shootout, as the USA would only tie Spain on six points (if Spain lost the PK shootout) -- and Spain holds the first tiebreaker over the USA, which is head-to-head result -- or fall behind Spain’s seven points, if Spain won the shootout. The USA lost to Spain, 2-0, to open the tournament.
The USA dominated the match, piling up a 23-5 margin in shots, but couldn’t hit the Danish net until the 17th minute. Forward Koi Edwards beat her defender down the right wing, took a couple of touches toward the edge ofpenalty box and slipped a pass behind the backline to Tatum Gardner, who met the ball just outside the six-yard box and one-touched into the goal to make it 1-0.
The second came in the 38th minute on a solo effort from Edward, who was played down the left wing. She dribbled toward the goal from the left side and as she approached the six-yard box, she cut the ball back on her right foot and struck a shot into the upper right-side netting
The third goal came with 12 minutes left when the USA won the ball off a high press. Substitute forward Anaya Bursey capitalized by dribbling across the top of the 18-yard-box before shooting back across the goal and into the left side netting.
The final goal came when Denmark scored on themselves. Midfielder Carly Barnes forced the miscue after she received the ball in the left corner of the 18-yard box. She dribbled to the end line, where she cut the ball back across the face of the goal, but a Denmark defender sliding to intercept the cross inadvertently deflected it into her own net.
All 20 players on the roster were born in 2010, which is the birth cutoff year to be eligible for the 2027 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, the tournament that this age group of players will be attempting to qualify for at the 2027 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship this Spring.
These matches are part of the Federation’s continued focus on the U.S. Way philosophy, which emphasizes increased programming for Youth National Teams to create more opportunities for young players to advance through the pathway to the senior National Team with the goal of representing their country at a world championship.
- U.S. UNDER-16 GIRLS’ NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT -
Match: United States U-16 Girls’ National Team vs. Denmark U-16 Girls’ National Team
Date: February 23, 2026
Competition: UEFA Development Tournament
Venue: Emirhan Sports Center - Field #1; Side, Türkiye
Weather: 62 degrees, mostly sunny
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| DEN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA – Tatum Gardner (Koi Edwards) | 17th minute |
| USA – Koi Edwards | 38 |
| USA – Anaya Bursey | 78 |
| USA – Own Goal | 81 |
Lineups:
USA: 21-Molly Gaffney; 2-Cali Hejduk, 4-Kendra Kates (4-Madison Kline, 46), 5-Mercy Karson (Capt.), 13-Addison Staats (3-Lilly Yakel, 56); 15-Sofia White (8-Avery Walbruch, 65), 10-Hannah Yu (16-Carly Barnes, 46), 14-Mia Sommers (18-Brynlie Ward, 56); 6-Addison Stout (11-Stella Spitzer, 56), 20-Koi Edwards (9-Anaya Bursey, 65), 7-Tatum Gardner (17-Riley Rountree, 75)
Subs not used: 1-Carmen O’Dea
Head Coach: Katie Schoepfer
DEN: 16-Marie Marbit; 23-Mila Skou-Christensen, 18-Mynthe Mejdahl, 20-Josefine Welzel, 15-Sara Hjortgaard; 12-Dagmar Willemoes (10-Agnete Press, 46), 17-Wilma Midjord (14-Victoria Chitham, 77), 21-Augusta Guldager (2-Saga Ninb, 77); 11-Amalie Klausen (7-Olivia Krogsgaard, 66), 13-Wilma Boeck (Capt.) (9-Elisa Aslani, 66), 19-Anna Riis (6-Nicoline Klintskov, 66).
Subs not used: 1-Hannah Darrell, 3-Alba Jakobsen, 4-Mathlide Elmgren, 5-Caroline Pors, 8-Sidsel Norup
Head Coach: Signe Pries
Stats Summary: USA / DEN
Shots: 23 / 5
Shots on Goal: 13 / 2
Saves: 2 / 9
Corner Kicks: 4 / 2
Fouls: 5 / 8
Offside: 3 / 3
| Misconduct Summary | |
| DEN – Augusta Guldager (caution) | 7th minute |
| DEN – Mila Skou-Christensen (caution) | 85 minute |
Officials:
Referee: Oswaldo Contreras (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Aguiar (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Gisella Bosso (ARG)
Fourth Official: Luciana Sánchez (ARG)
2026 UEFA Development Tournament Standings - Türkiye
| TEAM | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 |
| USA | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 |
| Denmark | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 |
| England | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 1 |