FIFA U17 FWC TEAMS OVERVIEW : FINLAND, GERMANY , GHANA , JAPAN.

FINLAND

FINLAND

Uruguay 2018 marks Finland’s first-ever appearance at a FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The debutantes’ journey to South America can be summed up in just a few words: they came, they saw, they conquered. Finland stormed to third place at their first UEFA Women’s U-17 Championship to secure their ticket to Uruguay 2018. The Finns began their inaugural European campaign with defeat at the hands of Germany before beating hosts Lithuania and the Netherlands. They ultimately triumphed over England in the match for third place to qualify for their first FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

The coach : Marko Saloranta
Marko Saloranta has been in charge of the U-16 and U-17 national teams since January 2011. Born in 1972, the Finn received his coaching license in 2005 and managed women’s side FC Honka between November 2005 and October 2010. Saloranta led the team to their first championship title in the Naisten Liiga in 2006 to qualify for the UEFA Women’s Cup. Honka successfully defended their title for the next two seasons before finishing second behind Aland United in 2009.

THE SQUAD

Head Coach: Marko Saloranta

Number	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	GK	Emma Immonen	1 May 2001 (aged 17)	PK-35 Vantaa
12	GK	Anna Koivunen	6 November 2001 (aged 17)	TPS
21	GK	Fanny Söderström	15 November 2001 (aged 16)	Vasa IFK
2	DF	Joanna Tynnilä	1 September 2001 (aged 17)	TiPS
4	DF	Kaisa Juvonen	7 January 2001 (aged 17)	Ilves
5	DF	Ella Pesonen	22 July 2001 (aged 17)	HJK
5	DF	Nana Yang	1 October 2001 (aged 17)	Honka
7	DF	Nea Silvola	4 November 2001 (aged 17)	HJK
9	DF	Alisa Hokkanen	8 September 2001 (aged 17)	PK-35 Vantaa
13	DF	Emmi Siren	23 February 2001 (aged 17)	TiPS
8	MF	Oona Siren	23 February 2001 (aged 17)	TiPS
10	MF	Tuuli Enkkilä	18 June 2001 (aged 17)	Ilves
15	MF	Annika Huhta	29 January 2002 (aged 16)	HJK
16	MF	Julia Sainio	24 April 2001 (aged 17)	TPS
17	MF	Vilma Koivisto	21 November 2002 (aged 15)	Piteå IF
18	MF	Katariina Kosola	24 February 2001 (aged 17)	HJS Hämeenlinna [fi]
19	MF	Heta Olmala	29 December 2001 (aged 16)	ONS Oulu [fi]
3	FW	Jenna Topra	17 June 2001 (aged 17)	TiPS
11	FW	Jenni Kantanen	12 August 2001 (aged 17)	Ilves
14	FW	Aino Vuorinen	8 December 2001 (aged 16)	Honka
20	FW	Dana Leskinen	22 September 2001 (aged 17)	TSG Hoffenheim

STATISTICS

- Finland played a total of 11 matches during European qualifiers on the road to Uruguay, winning six, losing two (to Germany and Spain) and drawing three.

2

MATCHES PLAYED

1

GOALS SCORED

4

GOALS AGAINST

19

SHOTS

6

ATTEMPTS ON TARGET

0

PENALTIES

3

OFFSIDES

8

CORNERS

20

FOULS COMMITTED

14

FOULS SUFFERED

1

YELLOW CARDS

0

RED CARDS

PLAYERS	MATCHES PLAYED	MINUTES PLAYED	GOALS SCORED	ASSISTS	YELLOW CARDS	INDIRECT RED CARDS	DIRECT RED CARDS
Aino VUORINEN	2	160	0	0	0	0	0
Alisa HOKKANEN	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Anna KOIVUNEN	2	180	0	0	0	0	0
Annika HUHTA	2	180	0	0	0	0	0
Dana LESKINEN	2	64	0	0	0	0	0
Ella PESONEN	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Emma IMMONEN	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Emmi SIREN	2	163	0	0	0	0	0
Fanny SODERSTROM	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Heta OLMALA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jenna TOPRA	2	52	0	0	0	0	0
Jenni KANTANEN	2	84	1	0	0	0	0
Joanna TYNNILA	2	180	0	0	0	0	0
Julia SAINIO	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kaisa JUVONEN	2	180	0	0	0	0	0
Katariina KOSOLA	2	180	0	0	0	0	0
Nana YANG	2	180	0	0	1	0	0
Nea SILVOLA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Oona SIREN	2	154	0	0	0	0	0
Tuuli ENKKILA	2	180	0	0	0	0	0
Vilma KOIVISTO	2	43	0	0	0	0	0

GERMANY

GERMANY
Germany have featured at every previous edition of the competition, having qualified for the U-17 Women’s World Cup as European champions on four occasions. Coach Anouschka Bernhard’s team have reached the knockout stages in four of their last five appearances at the tournament, only failing to progress beyond the group stage in Costa Rica in 2014. Germany’s best finish to date was third place in New Zealand back in 2008.
Germany’s youngsters navigated the group stages of the UEFA Women’s U-17 Championship in style, finishing ahead of Finland, the Netherlands and hosts Lithuania to reach the knockout stages. They continued this impressive form with a resounding 8-0 win over England in the semi-final. By reaching the final, where they lost 2-0 to Spain, the team booked their ticket to Uruguay 2018.

The coach : Anouschka Bernhard
Anouschka Bernhard led the team to the final of the European Championship this summer, paving the way for their participation at Uruguay 2018. However due to an illness, Ulrike Ballweg will stand in for Bernhard at the tournament. The 53-year-old has worked as assistant coach to Silvia Neid for the senior national team and has been the head of the federation's talent and elite programme since 2016

THE SQUAD

 coach:  Anouschka Bernhard

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Wiebke Willebrandt	16 January 2001 (aged 17)	17	0	TuS Lipperode
12	GK	Maria Luisa Grohs	13 June 2001 (aged 17)	8	0	1. FC Gievenbeck [de]
21	GK	Pauline Nelles	20 January 2002 (aged 16)	0	0	FC Köln
2	DF	Laura Donhauser	4 September 2001 (aged 17)	13	3	Bayern Munich
3	DF	Julia Pollak	9 May 2002 (aged 16)	14	0	Bayern Munich
4	DF	Emilie Bernhardt	5 May 2002 (aged 16)	14	2	Bayern Munich
5	DF	Greta Stegemann	12 February 2001 (aged 17)	22	2	SC Freiburg
6	DF	Anna Aehling	23 March 2001 (aged 17)	13	1	FSV Gütersloh 2009
14	DF	Madeleine Steck	31 January 2002 (aged 16)	9	0	1. FFC Frankfurt
15	DF	Lina Jubel	26 January 2001 (aged 17)	9	0	VfL Wolfsburg
18	DF	Charlotte Blümel	8 December 2001 (aged 16)	3	0	FSV Gütersloh 2009
7	MF	Gia Corley	20 May 2002 (aged 16)	14	2	Bayern Munich
8	MF	Leonie Köster	6 April 2001 (aged 17)	16	5	Bayern Munich
11	MF	Vanessa Fudalla	21 October 2001 (aged 17)	15	7	Bayern Munich
13	MF	Aliya Diagne	8 May 2001 (aged 17)	0	0	SV Göttelborn
17	MF	Leonie Weber	20 January 2002 (aged 16)	0	0	Bayern Munich
19	MF	Pauline Berning	9 January 2001 (aged 17)	10	0	FSV Gütersloh 2009
9	FW	Shekiera Martinez	4 July 2001 (aged 17)	17	16	1. FFC Frankfurt
10	FW	Ivana Fuso	12 March 2001 (aged 17)	17	12	SC Freiburg
16	FW	Gentiana Fetaj	4 August 2002 (aged 16)	1	1	FSV Gütersloh 2009
20	FW	Sophie Weidauer	10 February 2002 (aged 16)	4	2	1. FFC Turbine Potsdam

THE STATISTICS
 Germany were the highest-scoring team at the UEFA Women’s U-17 Championship with 20 goals in five games. Nine of them were scored by Shekiera Martinez alone.

4

MATCHES PLAYED

8

GOALS SCORED

3

GOALS AGAINST

50

SHOTS

19

ATTEMPTS ON TARGET

0

PENALTIES

9

OFFSIDES

19

CORNERS

26

FOULS COMMITTED

53

FOULS SUFFERED

2

YELLOW CARDS

0

RED CARDS

PLAYERS	MATCHES PLAYED	MINUTES PLAYED	GOALS SCORED	ASSISTS	YELLOW CARDS	INDIRECT RED CARDS	DIRECT RED CARDS
Aliya DIAGNE	2	21	0	0	0	0	0
Anna AEHLING	3	213	0	0	0	0	0
Charlotte BLUEMEL	4	327	1	0	0	0	0
Emilie BERNHARDT	4	360	0	0	0	0	0
Gentiana FETAJ	1	18	0	0	0	0	0
Gia CORLEY	3	243	2	1	0	0	0
Greta STEGEMANN	2	180	0	0	0	0	0
Ivana FUSO	3	270	0	3	0	0	0
Julia POLLAK	4	320	0	0	1	0	0
Laura DONHAUSER	4	360	1	0	0	0	0
Leonie KOESTER	4	352	0	0	1	0	0
Leonie WEBER	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lina JUBEL	1	4	0	0	0	0	0
Madeleine STECK	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Maria GROHS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Pauline NELLES	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Pauline BERNING	3	142	0	0	0	0	0
Shekiera MARTINEZ	4	287	2	1	0	0	0
Sophie WEIDAUER	4	159	1	1	0	0	0
Vanessa FUDALLA	4	344	1	0	0	0	0
Wiebke WILLEBRANDT	4	360	0	0	0	0	0

GHANA

GHANA

Ghana are perennial participants at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, having played in every edition of the tournament, beginning with New Zealand 2008. Their best performance came at Azerbaijan 2012, when they managed to take home a bronze medal, after defeating Germany in the match for third place. The Black Maidens followed that historic performance, with two quarter-final appearances in 2014 and 2016.
Ghana started their qualifying campaign with a 5-1 win over Gambia in the first round in Bakau, thanks to a four-goal performance from captain Mukarama Abdulai. They followed that up with a 2-0 victory over Gambia in Cape Coast. In the second round, they came up against Djibouti, which proved to be a lopsided contest, as the Black Maidens cruised to a 19-0 aggregate win to secure their place in Uruguay.

The coach: Evans Adotey
Ghana have the experienced Evans Adotey at the helm. Adotey was in charge of the last two U-17 Women's World Cup campaigns, in which the Black Maidens exited after the quarter-finals on both occasions. He has experience at both the women's youth level and with men's club side Medeama in Ghana, having worked as a technical director and a head coach in the past.

 

THE SQUAD

Head coach: Evans Adotey

Number	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	GK	Grace Boadu	15 January 2002 (aged 16)	Halifax Ladies
16	GK	Cynthia Konlan	29 November 2002 (aged 15)	Lepo Stars
21	GK	Barikisu Issahaku	12 November 2001 (aged 17)	Real Upper
4	DF	Justice Tweneboaa	28 October 2001 (aged 17)	Ampem Darko Ladies
5	DF	Elizabeth Oppong	15 May 2003 (aged 15)	Samaria Ladies
12	DF	Nina Norshie	14 September 2001 (aged 17)	Valued Girls
14	DF	Mavis Owusu	7 December 2003 (aged 14)	Ampem Darko Ladies
15	DF	Selina Kurug	5 February 2001 (aged 17)	Prison Ladies
17	DF	Tedinah Sekyere	7 June 2002 (aged 16)	Dreamz Ladies
18	DF	Faustina Aidoo	3 May 2001 (aged 17)	Halifax Ladies
6	MF	Jacqueline Owusu	12 June 2002 (aged 16)	Dreamz Ladies
9	MF	Eishaddai Acheampong	16 August 2003 (aged 15)	Kumasi Sports Academy
10	MF	Fuseina Mumuni	2 April 2001 (aged 17)	Lepo Stars
13	MF	Azumah Bugre	15 December 2002 (aged 15)	Police Ladies
19	MF	Animah Grace	4 September 2003 (aged 15)	Police Ladies
20	MF	Basira Alhassan	30 March 2003 (aged 15)	Lepo Stars
2	FW	Alice Sarpong	7 June 2003 (aged 15)	Sea Lions Ladies
3	FW	Millot Pokuaa	10 October 2001 (aged 17)	Faith Ladies
7	FW	Suzzy Teye	6 November 2002 (aged 16)	Lady Strikers
8	FW	Mukarama Abdulai	10 October 2002 (aged 16)	Northern Ladies
11	FW	Abigail Tutuwaa	18 November 2002 (aged 15)	Prison Ladies

STATISTICS

 Defenders at Uruguay 2018 will need to watch out for Abdulai. The forward scored four goals in both matches against Djibouti, and four earlier in qualification, to see her become the continent's top scorer by quite a distance (12 goals).

4

MATCHES PLAYED

12

GOALS SCORED

3

GOALS AGAINST

98

SHOTS

30

ATTEMPTS ON TARGET

0

PENALTIES

6

OFFSIDES

26

CORNERS

47

FOULS COMMITTED

35

FOULS SUFFERED

4

YELLOW CARDS

0

RED CARDS

PLAYERS	MATCHES PLAYED	MINUTES PLAYED	GOALS SCORED	ASSISTS	YELLOW CARDS	INDIRECT RED CARDS	DIRECT RED CARDS
Abigail TUTUWAA	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Alice SARPONG	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Azumah BUGRE	4	359	0	0	1	0	0
Barikisu ISSAHAKU	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Basira ALHASSAN	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Cynthia KONLAN	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Elizabeth OPPONG	4	360	0	0	0	0	0
Elshaddai ACHEAMPONG	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Faustina AIDOO	2	46	0	0	1	0	0
Fuseina MUMUNI	2	74	1	0	0	0	0
Grace ANIMAH	4	360	1	1	0	0	0
Grace BUOADU	4	359	0	0	0	0	0
Jacqueline OWUSU	4	279	0	0	1	0	0
Justice TWENEBOAA	4	360	0	0	0	0	0
Mavis OWUSU	4	257	0	1	0	0	0
Millot POKUAA	4	320	2	2	0	0	0
Mukarama ABDULAI	4	360	7	2	0	0	0
Nina NORSHIE	4	360	0	1	0	0	0
Selina KURUG	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Suzzy TEYE	4	104	1	1	0	0	0
Tedinah SEKYERE	4	360	0	0	1	0	0

JAPAN

JAPAN
Japan are among the most successful nations on the international scene at this age level, having progressed beyond the group phase in each of the past five FIFA U-17 Women's World Cups. Notably, they stormed to the final three times, and were crowned world champions at Costa Rica 2014.
Japan eased through the AFC U-16 Championship group stage with an unblemished record, which included a 2-1 win over holders Korea DPR. However, they suffered an unexpected defeat against a resilient Korea Republic in the semi-final. Despite that setback, the Little Nadeshiko pulled off a 1-0 victory over China PR in the third-place play-off as they booked passage to Uruguay 2018.

The coach : Naoki Kusunose
Naoki Kusunose was the man responsible for guiding Japan through Asia's Uruguay 2018 qualifiers but in the build-up to the World Cup he was replaced by Futoshi Ikeda, who led Japan to glory at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. A former defender with Urawa Reds, Ikeda began his coaching career with the club's youth team before joining the national set-up last year and taking charge of Japan's U-20 women's team. The 48-year-old made an immediate impact too, leading his team to Asian and world titles inside his first year in charge.

THE SQUAD

 Coach:  Naoki Kusunose

Number	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	GK	Shu Ohba	11 July 2002 (aged 16)	JFA Academy Fukushima LSC
18	GK	Shiori Fukuda	13 June 2002 (aged 16)	Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies
21	GK	Yuria Ito	2 April 2001 (aged 17)	Maebashi Ikuei High School [jp]
2	DF	Chihiro Tomioka	15 August 2001 (aged 17)	JFA Academy Fukushima LSC
3	DF	Ibuki Nagae	3 March 2002 (aged 16)	Fujieda Junshin High School [jp]
4	DF	Wakaba Goto	4 June 2001 (aged 17)	NTV Menina
5	DF	Tamaki Okuma	25 December 2001 (aged 16)	JEF United Chiba Ladies
7	DF	Shino Matsuda	27 March 2001 (aged 17)	NTV Menina
14	DF	Warai Yoshizumi	4 November 2002 (aged 16)	Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies
6	MF	Sara Ito	11 November 2001 (aged 17)	NTV Menina
8	MF	Chise Takizawa	14 February 2001 (aged 17)	Jumonji High School [jp]
10	MF	Momo Nakao	9 March 2002 (aged 16)	JEF United Chiba Ladies
15	MF	Akane Nishino	4 February 2002 (aged 16)	Tokiwagi Gakuen High School LSC
16	MF	Momoka Kinoshita	2 March 2003 (aged 15)	NTV Menina
17	MF	Ran Iwai	29 March 2002 (aged 16)	JFA Academy Fukushima LSC
19	MF	Misaki Morita	11 January 2002 (aged 16)	Okayama Sakuyo High School
20	MF	Chihiro Ishida	20 December 2001 (aged 16)	JFA Academy Fukushima LSC
9	FW	Chiina Kamiya	19 March 2001 (aged 17)	St. Capitanio High School [jp]
11	FW	Tomoko Tanaka	16 July 2001 (aged 17)	Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies
12	FW	Haruka Osawa	15 April 2001 (aged 17)	JEF United Chiba Ladies
13	FW	Yuzuki Yamamoto	1 September 2002 (aged 16)	NTV Menina

STATISTICS

 Japan sit alongside Korea DPR having been crowned Asian champions on three occasions.

4

MATCHES PLAYED

8

GOALS SCORED

2

GOALS AGAINST

48

SHOTS

19

ATTEMPTS ON TARGET

2

PENALTIES

5

OFFSIDES

24

CORNERS

21

FOULS COMMITTED

44

FOULS SUFFERED

1

YELLOW CARDS

0

RED CARDS

PLAYERS	MATCHES PLAYED	MINUTES PLAYED	GOALS SCORED	ASSISTS	YELLOW CARDS	INDIRECT RED CARDS	DIRECT RED CARDS
Akane NISHINO	2	150	0	0	0	0	0
Chihiro ISHIDA	1	45	0	0	0	0	0
Chihiro TOMIOKA	3	209	0	1	0	0	0
Chiina KAMIYA	3	192	0	0	0	0	0
Chise TAKIZAWA	3	214	0	0	0	0	0
Haruka OSAWA	4	199	2	0	0	0	0
Ibuki NAGAE	2	180	0	0	0	0	0
Misaki MORITA	3	210	0	0	0	0	0
Momo NAKAO	3	270	0	0	0	0	0
Momoka KINOSHITA	4	360	1	0	0	0	0
Ran IWAI	1	29	0	0	0	0	0
Sara ITO	4	223	2	0	0	0	0
Shino MATSUDA	3	225	0	0	0	0	0
Shiori FUKUDA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shu OHBA	4	346	0	0	0	0	0
Tamaki OKUMA	2	180	0	0	0	0	0
Tomoko TANAKA	3	190	1	1	0	0	0
Wakaba GOTO	2	180	0	0	1	0	0
Warai YOSHIZUMI	4	360	0	0	0	0	0
Yuria ITO	1	14	0	0	0	0	0
Yuzuki YAMAMOTO	3	184	1	0	0	0	0

NESSA BENARD

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