Margao: Canada did enough to hold a dominant France 1-1 in the Group D match of the Fifa U-17 Women’s World Cup at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Wednesday.
Annabelle Chukwu came off the bench to break the deadlock for Canada in the 67th minute, while Player-of-the-Match Lucie Calba equalised for France, six minutes later.
France, making their third appearance in the tournament and first since their 2012 championship run, were dominating right from the start. They came close when Charline Coutel’s header was collected by Canada goalkeeper Feerine Belhadj on the goalline. There were calls for VAR (Video Assistant Referee) by the French team, but match referee Karboubi Bouchra was firm with her decision to continue play.
Even as France dictated terms, Canada could have taken the lead when Amanda Allen got hold of the ball after a poor back pass from France centre-back Lola Boisset. But Amanda was unlucky to see her effort hit the horizontal.
Canada has qualified for all seven editions of the World Cup and were determined to better their fourth-place finish in 2018 in Uruguay. Emma Humphires’ side had arrived early in India for a 10-day lead-in to the tournament to get acclimatised to the heat.
However, Canada struggled to create anything promising upfront.
They certainly missed their key player Rosa Maalouf due to injury ahead of the tournament. Maalouf had scored 12 of Canada’s 26 goals during their qualification run.
In the second half, Amanda thought she had given Canada the lead with a powerful right-footer, but her joy was short-lived after being caught off-side.
Canada, though, celebrated in the 68th minute when substitute Annabelle Chukwu broke the off-side trap after receiving a through ball from Anna Hauer, rounded off keeper Feerine and rolled the ball calmly in the empty nets.
Canada couldn’t hold on to their lead and lacked concentration.
Just four minutes later, the Canada defence was caught napping when a dangerous cross from the left arrived and Lucie Calba’s touch was enough to evade Coralie Lallier.
After a day’s gap, New Zealand will take on Nigeria in Friday’s first match while Germany meets Chile later in the day.
Annabelle Chukwu came off the bench to break the deadlock for Canada in the 67th minute, while Player-of-the-Match Lucie Calba equalised for France, six minutes later.
France, making their third appearance in the tournament and first since their 2012 championship run, were dominating right from the start. They came close when Charline Coutel’s header was collected by Canada goalkeeper Feerine Belhadj on the goalline. There were calls for VAR (Video Assistant Referee) by the French team, but match referee Karboubi Bouchra was firm with her decision to continue play.
Even as France dictated terms, Canada could have taken the lead when Amanda Allen got hold of the ball after a poor back pass from France centre-back Lola Boisset. But Amanda was unlucky to see her effort hit the horizontal.
Canada has qualified for all seven editions of the World Cup and were determined to better their fourth-place finish in 2018 in Uruguay. Emma Humphires’ side had arrived early in India for a 10-day lead-in to the tournament to get acclimatised to the heat.
However, Canada struggled to create anything promising upfront.
They certainly missed their key player Rosa Maalouf due to injury ahead of the tournament. Maalouf had scored 12 of Canada’s 26 goals during their qualification run.
In the second half, Amanda thought she had given Canada the lead with a powerful right-footer, but her joy was short-lived after being caught off-side.
Canada, though, celebrated in the 68th minute when substitute Annabelle Chukwu broke the off-side trap after receiving a through ball from Anna Hauer, rounded off keeper Feerine and rolled the ball calmly in the empty nets.
Canada couldn’t hold on to their lead and lacked concentration.
Just four minutes later, the Canada defence was caught napping when a dangerous cross from the left arrived and Lucie Calba’s touch was enough to evade Coralie Lallier.
After a day’s gap, New Zealand will take on Nigeria in Friday’s first match while Germany meets Chile later in the day.
