USA drawn into Group D for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team will face Paraguay, Ghana and Japan in Group D at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, taking place at four stadiums in Jordan from Sept. 30-Oct. 21. The Final Draw took place today at the Al Hussein Cultural Centre in Jordan’s capital city of Amman.

Host Jordan, European champion Germany, defending champion Japan and Korea DPR, the 2008 U-17 Women’s World Cup winners and 2012 runners-up, earned the seeds across the four groups. In Group A, Jordan drew Spain, Mexico and New Zealand. Group B features Venezuela, Germany, Cameroon and Canada. Group C features Nigeria, Brazil, England and Korea DPR.

The U.S. plays its first Group D match against Paraguay on Oct. 1 at Prince Mohammed International Stadium in Al Zarqa (4 p.m. local / 9 a.m. ET) before facing Ghana on Oct. 4 at King Abdullah II International Stadium in Amman (4 p.m. local / 9 a.m. ET). The USA will finish group play on Oct. 8 against Japan at Amman International Stadium (7 p.m. local / Noon ET).

Quote Sheet from U.S. head coach B.J. Snow

Jordan, which encompasses roughly the same square miles as the state of Indiana, will host the tournament in four venues, two in Amman, one in Irbid, which is about 60 miles north of Amman, and one in Al Zarqa, which is just 15 miles northeast of Amman.

The 12,000-seat Prince Mohammed International Stadium in Al Zarqa, where the USA opens the tournament, features an artificial surface while the other three stadiums have natural grass. Amman International Stadium, which seats 13,000, will host the Third-Place Match on Oct. 20 and World Cup Final on Oct. 21. King Abdullah II International Stadium seats 12,000, as does the Al Hassan International Stadium in Irbid, the only venue the USA will not play in during group play.

The 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will feature 16 teams, with the top two finishers in each group advancing to the quarterfinals. Should the U.S. advance to the second round by winning the group, it would meet a second-place team from Group C. If the USA finishes second in the group, it would face the first-place team from Group C.

Additional Notes:

• The USA opens the tournament against South America third-place finisher Paraguay in what will be the second meeting between the nations in U-17 Women’s World Cup play. The two countries met in the second group match at the 2008 tournament in New Zealand with the USA prevailing 3-1 after going down a goal. It was a crucial three points as the USA lost (to Japan) and drew (with France) in its other group matches, but advanced second out of the group and made to the championship game.
• The meeting with Ghana will be the first between these two countries in this tournament, but second against an African team for the USA in FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup play. The USA defeated Gambia, 6-0, in group play at the 2012 tournament. Ghana qualified by defeating Morocco 10-0 on aggregate over a two-leg series to earn one of Africa’s three berths to Jordan.
• The Americans will finish group play against Japan, which finished second behind Korea DPR in the 2015 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship. Japan won this tournament two years ago in Costa Rica, defeating Spain 2-0 in the title match. The USA and Japan met in the opening game of the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with the USA falling, 3-2. The Americans rallied to make the championship game before losing 2-1 in overtime to North Korea.
• This will be the fifth FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, and the tournaments has been dominated by teams from Asia. North Korea won the inaugural tournament in 2008 in New Zealand, defeating the USA, and South Korea won the second installment in 2010 in Trinidad & Tobago, defeating Japan in penalty kicks after an entertaining 3-3 tie through regulation and overtime.
• In the third U-17 WWC in 2012, France broke through, defeating North Korea in penalty kicks in the championship game, but Japan returned the trophy to Asia in 2014, defeating Spain, 2-0.
• These will be the first matches ever by any U.S. Women’s National Team in Jordan.
• The USA won the 2016 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship, defeating Mexico 2-1 in the championship game, but the Americans had already booked their place in the Women’s World Cup with a 5-0 victory against Canada in the semifinal. The USA out-scored its opposition 18-2 over the five matches of the tournament.
• The USA missed the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after falling in penalty kicks in the semifinal of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament to Canada despite out-scoring the opposition 38-0 over five games. The USA missed the 2014 U-17 Women’s World Cup after falling in penalty kicks to Mexico in semifinal of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament despite outscoring its opponents, 24-1.

2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Groups
Group A (Amman AIS & KAS, Irbid, Al Zarqa):
Jordan
Spain
Mexico
New Zealand

Group B (Irbid, Amman AIS & KAS, Al Zarqa):
Venezuela
Germany
Cameroon
Canada

Group C (Amman KAS & AIS, Al Zarqa, Irbid):
Nigeria
Brazil
England
Korea DPR

Group D (Al Zarqa, Amman AIS & KAS, Irbid):
USA
Paraguay
Ghana
Japan

– U.S. 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Group D Schedule –