FIFA U-17 WOMEN WORLD CUP

 Group C

USA 5-2 China PR

USA goals: Malsom (27, 68), Dimaria (44), Touray (45+3, 62) China goals: Xinyi (12), Yijie (85)

USA v China PR | Group C | FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Morocco 2025™ | Highlights

Watch the highlights between USA and China PR played at Football Academy Mohammed VI (Pitch 3) on Tuesday 21 October at 17:00 (local time).

USA rallied from an early deficit with five unanswered goals to storm past China PR and book a place in the knockout round.

The Asian side led when Zhou Xinyi curled a left-footed shot that nicked the post before rippling the net. A superb defensive play from Cali O’Neill set the table for USA’s equaliser, as she stole the ball at midfield and fed Lauren Malsom, who raced down the right wing, cut to her left and blasted in a shot.

The momentum was with the Stars and Stripes and they grabbed their first lead of the day when Maddie DiMaria glided through the Chinese defence and fired low into net. Malsom got to play the role of provider, slipping a pass into Nyanya Touray, who finished with aplomb.

Touray notched her second with an easy sweep into net after an excellent cutback pass from Micayla Johnson. Malsom then completed the USA’s scoring, gathering a pass from Dimaria and slotting home for her second of the evening. China found a second in the waning moments on a perfectly-struck free-kick from Zeng Yijie.

Quotes

Overall, our preparation and tactics were very solid. I think the turning point came when Ke Can got injured. That forced us to reshuffle our positions a bit, and from that moment on, we were a little stretched. Still, I’m proud of how the girls performed. Most of them are still playing in youth leagues back home, while the U.S. players already have experience in professional environments. That gap in experience probably made the biggest difference today." Wang Hongliang, China PR head coach "We knew from the start that it was going to be a tough game. China came out and beat the last team [Norway] 5-0, so we knew we had to come out on the strong foot with energy. Going down a goal, I think adversity was hard to come back, but I think the team did a great job rallying each other, sticking behind each other's back and coming back and winning the game, obviously." Maddie DiMaria, USA midfielder

Player of the match: Maddie DiMaria (USA)

Norway 0-2 Ecuador

Ecuador goals: Niss own goal (28), Zambrano (74)

Norway v Ecuador | Group C | FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Morocco 2025™ | Highlights

Watch the highlights between Norway and Ecuador played at Football Academy Mohammed VI (Pitch 3) on Tuesday 21 October at 20:00 (local time).

Ecuador got their tournament up and running as Norway had an evening to forget. 

The Scandinavians first missed a penalty in the 11th minute when Christina Herseth's spot kick was well saved by Ecuador keeper Maria Rodriguez. And they were made to pay for their profligacy when defender Ebba Niss bundled the ball into her own net after connecting with a speculative strike from Mary Guerra, which was going well wide of the post. 

Ecuador doubled their lead in the 74th minute in style when defender Maite Zambrano converted a Guerra corner with a fine finish as Eline Kulstad-Torneus's players slipped to their second successive defeat. 

Quotes

"We didn't create enough chances to decide the game. We created pretty early on, but sadly, we were not precise enough in the decisive moments, and Ecuador did that better than we did. All in all, we were not good enough in the decisive moments. It's just a tough loss, we expect more from us, all of us, the whole team. It's disappointing." Eline Kulstad-Torneus, Norway coach

"It’s not easy to bounce back from a loss. But I think we’re a very strong team - both mentally and on the field. We showed that today. We turned the page and got the win. Honestly, we feel very calm after this win. We’re already preparing for the next match, thinking about our next opponent, about doing things right and getting another victory." Maite Zambrano, Ecuador defender

Player of the match: Xiomara Alcivar (Ecuador)

   

Group C			P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
	1	USA	2	2	0	0	8	2	6	6	- - -
	2	CHN	2	1	0	1	7	5	2	3	- - -
	3	ECU	2	1	0	1	2	3	-1	3	- - -
	4	NOR	2	0	0	2	0	7	-7	0	- - -