At the moment, there are only the super-short FIFA highlights, that aren't even close to giving an idea of the whole match.
Appropriately, the final match Spain-Japan had the record-attendance of the whole tournament. According to Wikipedia page, there were 5409 supporters at Stade de la Rabine for the game, beating the semifinal Spain-France by about 75 spectators. Ok, maybe many of them had already secured their place in the hope of watching France play for the title, but I guess it's anyway a good result and the show the teams offered was worth the record-attendance.
It was also the worse ever attedance at a U-20 final. The LOC used small ground and it was a good plan. I think the overall selling % is between 80 & 90%. There will be a lot of work to sell the bigger grounds next year at the senior world cup.
England's girls sure like to scream! What do you say, @BarryfromEastenders, do you like this warrior-like approach? Also, did Stanway's, Maciver's and Allen's heroics somehow comforted you with this Bronze Medal from the loss in the semifinal?
I was already very pleased with their tournament before that game but it’s an even better tournament now. Best ever finish at a youth finals and I think all of the players can be proud of their displays. Bit of a shame that a few other players didn’t get more time on the pitch after being there so long. Congrats to Japan. You could argue they had the toughest ever draw and they ended up winning the tournament.
I didn't see the final but FIFA gave player of the tournament & obviously top goal scorer award to Patri Guijarro. https://www.fifa.com/u20womensworldcup/news/guijarro-leads-individual-honours-in-france Maybe Endo won top assist award?(FIFA don't seem to want to acknowledge this important stat), but I'm willing to bet Patri would of won the award for most tackles as well looking at the final(obviously Patri's weakest game), her stats were pretty decent. if you go to this page, wait for the chart to arrive. then click on to the each player on the chart. You find Patri connected on 82% of her passes vs Endo's rather disappointed 46% https://us.women.soccerway.com/matc...s-world-cup/spain-u20/japan-under-20/2829809/ as I've mentioned, someone else from Spain needed to step up to the plate if they wanted to win/the only full game I saw of them(vs USA) Patri was a 'one women wrecking crew', their fwds upfront like Pina, were way too slow, along with their whole defence
I should be used to that, by now, but, as usual, FIFA's selection looks quite underwhelming to me. Not sure if they actually have a panel for that or if the viewers' opinions along the tournament somehow count to reach this choice, but I seem to remember some better goals in this U-20 WWC than these 10. For instance, in this kind of charts there is almost everytime a tendency to favour big "missiles" from middle-range or even from long-range, or anyway pieces of individual brilliance, over long and sophisticated manoeuvres involving the whole team. Basically, the only selected goal in this last category is Netherlands' one, Van Deursen's in the group-stage game vs New Zealand (that, according to this selection, was one of two matches showcasing two each of the 10 best goals of the tournament, the other one being Mexico-Brazil; unless there aren't geo-political considerations involved in wanting to have the highest possible number of different confederations represented... ): I was tempted to choose Van Deursen's goal for this very reason. There were many other goals in this category throughout the tournament, though, that weren't taken in consideration: Riko Ueki's one vs England, for instance, was a masterpiece to me, both for the well-orchestrated action that preceded it and for the shot itself, that was incredible for power, speed and accuracy (don't even get me started about the overall selection of Japan's goals: yes, Japan rightfully had two goals chosen among these 10, but to me the one I described above or Endo's one vs Germany were probably better ). Also, another category that's sorely missing from this selection, in my eyes, is the one of fast and lethal counter-attacks, that could have been perfectly represented by Nigerian Efih's goal vs Spain in quarter-finals. Finally, if you really wanted to reward individual brilliance, why not including one of Sofia Smith's efforts, especially her first goal vs Paraguay, that opened the score in that game? It's a shame that it basically can't be seen from highlights, since they are cut very short, but I was at the stadium that day and I can tell you that she ran through most of Paraguayan half dribbling players like traffic cones, asked a team-mate for a give-and-go, received the return pass, dribbled some other players in the box and scored from a near-impossible angle. Of course, Paraguay's defense (goalkeeping included) had been an horror-show during the whole action, but this doesn't take away anything from the technical and athletical beauty that this goal was. Also, of all of Georgia Stainway's goals, the one that was included here was really the best one? At least her first one vs Netherlands in the quarters looked better to me. (It is instead correct, in my humble opinion, that Golden Boot and Golden Ball Patri Guijarro doesn't appear in this selection: she was surely a great player in this tournament and absolutely instrumental to Spain's silver medal, but her 6 goals were mostly from routinary actions, some of them being even almost "ugly"). In the end I decided to go with Fuka Nagano's volley: not only the way she connected with Takarada's cross and produced that perfectly curved shot was fantastic, but it was also a "meaningful" goal in that it basically sealed the final match. I would have liked some different goals to choose from, though, and I wonder if anyone of you wants to drop any suggestion about goals who would have deserved recognition too . Not sure how many of you literally watched all of the goals of this tournament like I did (although of course i didn't watch all of the whole matches!), but I'd anyway really appreciate some contributions, please!
Some/many goals look great but are really ordinary and others look ordinary but are really great. I think back to the last WWC in Canada and the final match. When you see goal the one that produces the oohs and ahs is the third of the hat trick but that was "ordinary." With the keeper that far off her line and no pressure on the kicker that goal should be scored four out of five times at the international level. The goal that was the really "great" goal of that final was the very first one. It required skill and touch by the player taking the corner and by the player scoring. It was a MUCH more difficult goal to score than any other in that match. That is why "awards" like "Goal of the Tournament" are really meaningless as the truly best are very often not seen well and/or do not look "spectacular." I have never voted in such polls as this and I never will because the selections rarely even have the top five as choices much less the truly best. DON'T VOTE! IT ONLY ENCOURAGES THEM!!!
By now, I already voted: too late. Also, it looks like the goal i voted for (Nagano's) was already nominated Goal of the Tournament. I would be anyway interested in knowing which goals, among the ones you remember, you liked best at this U-20 WWC.
My old brain has already forgot most of them but I like hustle goals and combo goals and goals caused/created by actions off the ball much more than goals that were the simple result of individual effort. Saying that there are three goals, all by Japan, that come to mind and I am unable to say who scored a couple of them. 1. The goal, scored by Endo I think, off a rebound from the crossbar. 2. The goal where the player that scored was opened up by a central run also by Endo who actually did not touch the ball or at least not much. 3. The goal that was scored after a good shot to the left side of the goal and a rebound and another shot and another rebound and then the goal. To see what I really like in the way of scoring I will describe a goal scored by Brazil early in Marta's career: Marta received the ball just past the half line. She then split two players and began dribbling the sideline. Just short of the box and near the sideline she played a complex little combo with another player and proceeded to the end line. She then put a hat on a defender and beat another on the dribble. The keeper came over and the remaining defenders and a mid had everyone in front of goal marked. She crossed the ball on the ground outside the six to a player about three yards out side the goal on the opposite side. That player then passed to another player at the penalty spot who calmly side footed the ball into the goal. Marta beat the other team's mids and defense but it required others to make it work. She did not even get the assist but guess who her whole team congratulated after the goal? That is the kind of goal I like to see. A strike from outside the box to the corner is good but that is great.
Yes, it was Endo, off the rebound from a Miyazawa's shot. It was the second goal in the semifinal vs England. It was Takarada in the final vs Spain, assisted by Ueki. This one maybe wasn't by Japan, after all? It looks like the perfect description of Georgia Stanway's 2nd goal in the England-Netherlands quarter final. By the way, as I mentioned above, of the 6 goal by Stanway they could have chosen to short-list, the one they finally picked didn't look like the best one indeed: this one, for instance, was probably better.
On further thought you are correct! It is just that the effort and tenacity shown made me think of Japan's play throughout the knockout phase. I told you my brain was old. They say as we age that memory is the first thing to go; I forget what the second is.
To me the best goal was scored by Lauren Hemp from England against Mexico. She went round the keeper, was fouled and sent flying in here. While falling over she scored with her hip when touching the ground.
It actually wasn't even her hip(bone). She squeezed the ball between her right lower side and the ground (below the ribs and above the hip) until it popped out like a peanut squeezed between thumb and finger. (Kids, don't try this with grapes, they just smoosh) She literally used her right kidney That's not a soft goal, it's a soft-tissue goal
Lol, you couldn't have said it better! Incidentally, this also means that this is your favourite goal of the competition, because of his uniqueness, or there were others who struck a chord with you?
So she literally donated her right kidney for her country. I think all U-20 women's soccer players at that age should donate an organ for their nation in this tournament. Prove you want to get called up to the senior team. Coach: "Well then Jessica, you want called up to our senior team later this year?" Jessica: "Mmmm-Hmmm, yes coach" Coach: "So which lung is it gonna be?"
@WWC_Movement, apart from your usual non-sense, do you have a favourite goal from this U-20 WWC competition (one that's been normally scored with feet or head, that is)?