USA drawn into Group C for FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup
CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U-20 Women’s National Team will face France, New Zealand and Ghana in Group C at the upcoming 2016 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, taking place from Nov. 13-Dec. 3 in Papua New Guinea. The draw took place today in Zurich, Switzerland.
The U.S. opens the tournament on Monday, Nov. 14 against France at 4 p.m. local time, faces New Zealand onThursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. and finishes the group against Ghana on Monday, Nov. 21 at 4 p.m. The USA will play its first two group games at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium and its third group game at National Football Stadium. Both stadiums are located in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea.
The 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup features 16 nations divided into four groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the quarterfinal stage to be held on Thursday, Nov. 24 and Friday, Nov. 25. The winners of those games will advance to the tournament semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The championship and third-place matches are set for Saturday, Dec. 3. All matches will be played across four stadiums in Port Moresby, with the final two matches being held at National Football Stadium.
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The 2016 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup was awarded to Papua New Guinea in March of 2015. The tournament will be the eighth FIFA Women’s World Cup for this age level (the first two events were held as U-19 events). The USA won U-20 World Cups in 2002 in Canada, 2008 in Chile and 2012 in Japan.
The USA earned its berth to the World Cup by winning its semifinal match of the CONCACAF Qualifying tournament against host Honduras last December and then defeated Canada 1-0 for the regional title.
The 16-team field for the tournament is a strong one, featuring Canada, Mexico, the USA, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Ghana, Nigeria, Brazil, Venezuela, France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden.
Broadcast information for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be released at a later date.
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2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup
Group C Schedule – USA
| Date | Match | Kickoff (local time / eastern time) | Venue |
| Nov. 14 | USA vs. France | 4pm / 2am ET | Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby |
| Nov. 17 | USA vs. New Zealand | 7pm / 5am ET | Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby |
| Nov. 21 | USA vs. Ghana | 4pm / 2am ET | National Football Stadium, Port Moresby |
2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Groups
Group A
Papua New Guinea
Brazil
Sweden
Korea DPR
Group B
Spain
Canada
Japan
Nigeria
Group C
France
USA
Ghana
New Zealand
Group D
Germany
Venezuela
Mexico
Korea Republic
