Spain defeated Columbia 1-0 to retain the U-17 Women’s World Cup title in front of 1,85,000 people in attendance at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
A late own goal by Ana Guzman led Spain to win the U-17 Women’s World Cup for the second time in a row. Columbia, who lost their group stage match against Spain 0-1, thought of reversing the result in the final. But Spain emerged to be stronger than Columbia in the final as they successfully defended the U-17 Women’s World Cup title leading to Columbia’s campaign ending in a heartbreak.
“I just wanted to reiterate that I’m very thankful to all the people in women’s football in Spain. We won the Under-20 World Cup and now the Under-17 Women’s World Cup… We always know that World Cup Finals are like this. It’s always very challenging and I’m very happy about our victory and this World Cup,” Spain’s head coach Keino Gonzalo told the press after the match.
After a goalless first half, Kenio Gonzalo’s side almost scored in the 48th minute when Cristina Libran shot into the net off the rebound after the Colombian goalkeeper had stopped it the first time. However, the goal was disallowed by a VAR review as it ruled that Cristina had touched the ball with her hand.
“I feel proud of my players. Unfortunately, in the end, we lost the match. But we are going to hold our heads up high and we’re going to continue to work so that we can continue to dream about lifting ourselves this important role for the World Cup that is at some point,” Colombia’s head coach Carlos Paniagua said after the match.
In the third-place match, Nigeria beat Germany 3-2 on penalties. Germany’s Paulina Platner and Loreen Bender missed two penalties. Nigerian goalkeeper Omilana Faith saved Paulina Bartz’s shot which paved the way for Nigeria’s first-ever medal in the tournament.
The match at D Y Patil stadium saw over 1,85,000 people attend the event, making it the third most-watched u-17 Women’s World Cup ever. Fans from around the world attended the final with face paintings, jerseys, flags, placards and music. FIFA president Gianni Infantino was present at the venue along with officials from the Asian Football Federation (AFC) and All India Football Federation (AIFF).
