FIFA U-17: Asians Dominate Opponents In Azerbaijan

Asian sides had a field day as Group C and D of the FIFA
U-17 Women’s World Cup Azerbaijan 2012 got underway yesterday with China PR
outclassing Uruguay to win 4-0 and Japan hitting five goals against Brazil
without reply.

Earlier in the day, Germany scraped past Ghana 2-1, while a
solitary Fernanda Perez header gave Mexico the narrowest of victories over New
Zealand.

The top scorer and Most Valuable Player at last year’s AFC
U-16 Women’s Championship, Yui Narumiya lived up to her star billing when she
stepped out at Azerbaijan 2012 on Sunday. The JFA Academy Fukushima player had
already opened her account for the tournament with her side’s third goal of the
day when she added a stunning second to complete the rout of the Brazilians.
After skipping round her marker with some dazzling footwork inside the box, she
smacked a rising drive against the bar and reacted quicker than anyone to lash
the rebound into the opposite corner with a thumping volley.

Uruguay goalkeeper Gabriela Gonzalez had a FIFA U-17 Women’s
World Cup debut to forget. At fault for two of China PR’s opening three goals,
the unfortunate custodian was then dismissed for handling the ball outside the
box – the first red card ever to be shown in the competition – and left the
field in tears.

After Ri Un-Sim and Ri Kyong-Hyang’s hat-tricks for Korea
DPR against Gambia on Saturday, and Ri Hyang-Sim’s brace in the same game, yet
more Asian strikers were in among the goals on Sunday. Rika Masuya and Yui
Narumiya both scored doubles in Japan’s emphatic defeat of Brazil, while China
PR’s Zhang Chen struck twice against Uruguay. Asia’s three sides have scored 20
goals and conceded none so far, with the aforementioned six players accounting
for all but six of them.

The Asian trio have made their intentions clear by sweeping
all before them on the opening weekend at Azerbaijan 2012. Coming hard on the
heels of Korea DPR’s 11-0 defeat of Gambia, Japan and China PR’s handsome
victories on Sunday ensured that the AFC is the only confederation with a 100
percent record in the tournament. What’s more, the Young Nadeshiko and the
Steel Roses have also maintained Asia’s dominance over South American sides in
the competition. Six times teams from the two regions have met in the FIFA U-17
Women’s World Cup and six times the Asian representatives have won.