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Last night, at another one of FIFA’s long-winded draws complete with interpretive dancers and people dressed up as wildlife, the groups for the 2014 Under 17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica were decided. The Canadian U17 women, nicknamed the Baby Reds, were drawn into group B with Germany, Ghana and Korea DPR.
It’s a tough group. Germany is a powerhouse in the women’s game. Ghana beat Germany in the 2012 edition of the tournament to get 3rd place. Korea DPR has been perhaps the most successful country at the three previous editions of the biennial tournament, winning the tournament in 2008, placing fourth in 2010 and second in 2012. Canada’s best at the tournament was reaching the quarterfinal in both 2008 and 2010.
Of course, the interesting part of these youth tournaments is the uncertainty and inconsistency the young teams bring. Just because Ghana was great in 2012 doesn’t mean they will be in 2014, as their team will mostly be made up of an entirely new group of players. The same goes for every other team in the tournament.
Read: Canadian U17 Women qualify for World Cup, finish with CONCACAF silver
John Herdman and Canadian Under 17 head coach Beverley Priestman have stressed that the focus of the youth program is on development. This group will make it tough for Priestman and her squad to, quite frankly, make the quarterfinals but the tough competition will be great for the team’s development.
Two Canadian players who are age eligible for this tournament have already been called up to the senior national team, in defender Sura Yekka and midfielder Jessie Fleming. It is likely we could see both promising players at the 2014 U20 World Cup here in Canada as well.
Canada’s group stage schedule for the tournament is below:
Canada vs GER, March 15th
Canada vs PRK, March 18th
Canada vs GHA, March 22nd
The full list of Groups is as follows:
Group A: Costa Rica, Venezuela, Italy, Zambia.
Group B: Ghana, Korea DPR, Germany, Canada
Group C: New Zealand, Paraguay, Spain, Japan.
Group D: Mexico, Colombia, China, Nigeria.
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