In doing so, they qualified in style for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016, where they will be joined by tournament runners-up Venezuela.
While the Brazilians have been present and correct at every single U-20 women’s world finals to date, the Venezuelans qualified for the first time by finishing above Colombia and Argentina in the final four-team round that was so tightly contested that all four contenders went into the last day with hopes of claiming the title.
Though unprecedented, La Vinotinto’s achievement in finishing runners-up should not have come as a surprise to anyone, with nine of their 22-strong squad have formed part of the team that took fourth place at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2014.
Brazil wasted little time in showing why they went into the tournament as favourites, reeling off three wins and a draw to take the honours in Group A. A Canarinha were made to work considerably harder in the final round, however. Held to goalless draws by Colombia and Venezuela, they went into their last match, against old rivals Argentina, needing to win to qualify. The hosts got back to scoring ways just in time, however, easing to a 3-1 victory to claim the title yet again.
“We knew that if we kept calm, then the goals would come,” said forward Kelen, who showed her side the way against the Argentinians with her second goal of the tournament. “And that’s how it turned out.” Brazil’s leading markswoman was their 17-year-old midfielder Jennifer, who scored their second against La Albiceleste.
As well as being the only team to end the tournament undefeated, the Brazilians also boasted the best defensive record along with Colombia, conceding a mere four goals in seven games. Praising her charges for another aspect of their performance, coach Doriva Bueno said: “The girls really showed their physical strength, which is what made the difference in the end.”
Venezuela’s sole defeat in their seven matches came against Brazil in their opening outing in Group A. La Vinotinto responded by winning their three other games in the section to clinch second and a place in the final four-team group, which began with them letting slip a 2-0 lead with just five minutes remaining to draw against Argentina. After sharing the spoils with Brazil, they sealed their ticket to Papua New Guinea by coming from behind to beat Colombia 2-1.
“We were the best team in the tournament because of the way we played our football,” commented Venezuela’s young coach Jose Catoya. “We played badly in the first half against Colombia, but we upped our performance levels in the second and came away with the win thanks to our aerial game.”
The joint winner of the adidas Golden Boot at Costa Rica 2014, Gabriela Garcia led the Vinotinto attack with aplomb, contributing three goals as her side top-scored with 13, one more than Brazil and Argentina. Just for good measure, the Venezuelans also collected the Fair Play Award.
Argentina’s failure to qualify came as a major blow for them. After topping Group B, La Albiceleste went into the final day of the competition with everything still to play for, needing only a draw to check into their first U-20 women’s world finals since 2012. It was not to be, however, and though Yamila Rodriguez ended the tournament as its leading scorer with seven goals, that proved to be small consolation for the Argentinians, who can nevertheless take heart from an overall performance that augurs well for their future.
Feeling similarly frustrated were Colombia, who finished third in the competition for the third time running. Las Cafeteras took the lead in their decisive meeting with Venezuela but could not hold on, and saw their hopes of qualifying for the world finals for the first time since their inaugural appearance in 2010 vanish once more.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is being hosted by Papua New Guinea in November 2016.
For more on the world game visit www.fifa.com

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