Express News Service
BHUBANESWAR: With power and speed, the USA women’s team outplayed host India 8-0 in the Pool A league match of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Tuesday. The USA team is considered one of the top contenders in the tournament and the margin of victory was not at all surprising.
The hosts struggled to keep possession and make inroads into the opponent’s territory. Possession was USA’s and so was the scoreline. The difference in class was stark and the visitors though tried hard made no impact on the outcome of the game. Striker Melina Rebimbas not only opened the floodgates in the ninth minute, but she also scored another goal in the 31st. Her teammates Charlotte Kohler, Onyeka Gamero and Gisele Thompson joined the goal shower by nailing one each in the 15th, 23rd and 39th minutes, respectively, and the USA dominated the first half with a 5-0 lead.
Debutants India never got a chance to claw back into the back and was outplayed in every department. If the first half was complete dominance, the second half was a stroll for the formidable USA team that is looking to win the World Cup this time. The visitors overpowered the host team by nailing another three goals in the second half.
With a powerful header, Ella Emri scored the sixth goal for the USA in the 51st minute. To rub salt in the wound, after a rough tackle in the box, the referee awarded a spot kick to the USA in the 59th minute. Suarez Taylor made no mistake to score the seventh goal. Goal No 8 was scored by Mia Bhuta. “We are here to win the tournament, I am happy that our team started the World Cup with a big winning margin of 8-0,” said USA head coach Astrain Natalie.
“I was honoured and excited. We won the match which I also contributed to. India fought well throughout the match, but we are a better team,” said Onyeka Gamero, who received the player of the match award. India head coach Thomas Dennerby was distraught. “I didn’t expect that the USA will register so many goals against us,” he said. “Congratulations to the USA team. Our players were very very nervous on the ground today. We have to forget today’s results and go ahead with a fresh mind.”
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik officially inaugurated the World Cup in the presence of Minister of Education of India Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports of India Anurag Thakur, FIFA General Secretary Fatma Samoura and AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey.
Contenders Brazil post 1-0 victory over Morocco
Title contenders Brazil began their campaign on a winning note with a 1-0 victory over debutants Morocco in a Group A match. Striker Jhonson scored the all-important goal in the fifth minute of the match as the South American champions collected all three points to put themselves in a strong position to make it to the quarterfinals. Morroco, one of the three representatives from Africa, had a good chance to score very early in the match but after that, it was Brazil who dominated the match with 65 per cent ball possession. In a Group B match in Margao, Chile got the better of New Zealand 3-1.
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