The FIFA U-17 World Cup Women 2014 (official 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup ) was the fourth playout this competition for football players under 17 (date: January 1, 1997), and took place from 15 March to 5th April 2014 in Costa Rica . The tournament was finally awarded to Costa Rica at the meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee on March 21, 2013 after the government of Costa Rica had given appropriate guarantees. It was the first ever FIFA tournament to be held in Costa Rica. 16 teams took part in the tournament, initially in four groups and then in a knockout system . The French world champions of 2012 could not qualify for these finals.
The qualification in Asia took place at the U-16 Asian Cup in Nanjing ( People's Republic of China ) from September 26 to October 6, 2013. 12 teams took part in the championship, which first played in 4 groups of 3 teams, of which the group winners reached the semi-finals. The three winners qualified for the World Cup. By reaching the finals, the juniors from Japan and North Korea were able to qualify. The third participant was determined in the game for third place between China and Thailand, which China won.
The three UEFA participants were determined at the U-17 European Women's Championship from 26 November to 8 December 2013 in England . The German team qualified as the first European team to make it through to the finals on December 5th, making them the only European team that could always qualify. Shortly afterwards, Spain was able to qualify as the second finalist, taking part for the second time since 2008. The third ticket went to Italy , who won the game for third place against England on penalties.
The qualifying tournament for the CONCACAF zone was the CONCACAF U-17 Championship , which was held from October 30 to November 9 in Jamaica in a final round with eight teams. Canada as a finalist and Mexico , which won the tournament in this age group for the first time, qualified alongside hosts Costa Rica for the World Cup. The US selection, however, surprisingly missed the final and thus participation in the World Cup after losing to Mexico in the semifinals on penalties.
The three representatives from Africa were determined in two qualifying rounds. The first legs of the second qualifying round took place between November 1 and 3, 2013, the second legs between November 22 and 24, 2013. With South Sudan withdrawing its team, Nigeria qualified without a fight. The second and third World Cup participants came from Ghana , who beat Equatorial Guinea with an aggregate result of 5-2 on aggregate, and Zambia , who beat South Africa 6-4 after two games, and for the first time could reach the finals in this age group.
The U-17 women’s national team from New Zealand took part as representatives from Oceania , as the qualifying tournament scheduled for January 2014 was suspended.
Venues
The World Cup games took place in four cities, each with a stadium.
There were also 15 players with two each, 37 players with one goal each and three own goals by Maria Araya (Costa Rica), Kim Jong-sim (North Korea) and Sara Paez (Colombia).
Awards
After the tournament, FIFA recognized the best player, the best goalscorer, the best goalkeeper and the fairest team:
Golden Ball:
The golden ball for the best player went to the Japanese Hina Sugita, silver went to her compatriot Yui Hasegawa and bronze to Pilar Garrote from Spain.
Golden Shoe:
The top goalscorers of the tournament were the two Venezuelans Deyna Castellanos and Gabriela García, who each scored six goals, bronze went to the Japanese Hina Sugita with five goals.
Golden glove:
The Japanese Mamiko Matsumoto was honored as the best goalkeeper.
FIFA Fair Play Award:
Japan was named the fairest team in the tournament.
Trivia
It was the first women's World Cup in which no team from Brazil took part.
The still active and by far the most successful female soccer player in the host country, Shirley Cruz Traña , was appointed FIFA ambassador for this tournament .
With 35,000 spectators in the opening game between hosts Costa Rica and Venezuela, a new attendance record was set for a U-17 women's soccer game.
For the first time, a German women's national team was eliminated from the preliminary round of a FIFA tournament.
For the first time, the North Korean U-17 team, which has always been below the top four, was eliminated in the preliminary round. In the last group game, North Korea was the first team to win a game after a 3-0 deficit at a women's U-17 World Cup.
With Costa Rica, the fourth host was eliminated in the preliminary round.
Japan (1st title)
Costa Rica
Deyna Castellanos Gabriela García (6 each)
yellow cards
Yellow-red cards
Red cards
Germany
Spain
Italy *
North Korea
China
Canada
Mexico
Nigeria
Ghana
Zambia *
Colombia
Paraguay
New Zealand
