DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Two spots in the 2022 FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup in India will be at stake this Friday in the semifinals of the 2022 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship in the Dominican Republic.
Both matches will be played at the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo, beginning with Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Mexico arrive at the semifinals after scoring 25 goals in their two knockout round games, a 15-0 win over Guyana in the Round of 16, followed by a 10-0 quarterfinal victory against Dominican Republic.
Tatiana Flores and Valerie Vargas have been the leaders of the Mexico attack with eight goals each and will be tasked with finding a way past a tough Puerto Rico defense.
The Boricuas are only in their third ever CWU17, but they have been hugely impressive in the knockout round with a pair of 2-0 wins against Central American foes Panama and El Salvador in the round of 16 and in the quarterfinals, respectively.
The other semifinal will be an all-North American duel between the United States and Canada, featuring two of the tournament’s top goal scorers in Amalia Villarreal of the U.S. and Rosa Maalouf of Canada.
Villarreal has eight goals to her name thus far in leading the U.S., while Maalouf has notched 10 goals in Canada’s five games, making her the CWU17 top scorer.
But for both it will be a stiff challenge, as the U.S. have not conceded in their five games, while Canada have only allowed two goals.
