Sports
U.S. U-17 Women’s Youth National Team Trashes Jamaica 4-0
U.S. U-17 WOMEN’S YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM DOWNS JAMAICA 4-0 AND ADVANCES TO CONCACAF WOMEN’S U-17 CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
SAN CRISTÓBAL, Dominican Republic (May 4, 2022) – The U.S. U-17 Women’s Youth National Team advanced to the semifinals of the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship by beating Jamaica 4-0 as forward Amalia Villarreal, midfielders Charlotte Kohler and Riley Jackson and forward Melina Rebimbas scored in a dominant performance.
With the result, the USA will face the winner of the Canada-Costa Rica quarterfinal that will be played later today. The USA’s match will take place at Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez in Santo Domingo on Friday, May 6 (7 p.m. ET). The winner of the two semifinal matches will secure berths to the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India, while the winner of the Third-Place Match will also earn a World Cup spot.
The USA got off to a flying start as the 5-foot-2 Villarreal opened the scoring with a looping header in just the third minute, finishing a perfect service from defender Alyssa Gonzalez. In the 32nd minute, midfielder Onyeka Gamero once again displayed her impressive dribbling skills as she evaded a defender and whipped in a cross from the right side that deflected off a defender and into the path of Kohler, who pounced on the loose ball to double the lead. Nine minutes later, Jackson – who captained the team – combined with Villarreal on a skillful give-and-go to break past the last line of defense and add her name to the scoresheet, making it 3-0 at the halftime break.
The USA came out strong in the second half, creating a plethora of chances. In the 56th minute, the U-17s added their fourth goal as Gamero received the ball on the right wing, blazed past two defenders and lobbed a cross into the box for Rebimbas, who redirected it into the net with her thigh from five yards out, giving her a goal on her 17th birthday.
The match was not as close as the score indicated as the USA outshot Jamaica, 38-2, and the Reggae Girlz rarely crossed midfield. Only some very near misses and a handful of great saves from Jamaica goalkeeper Liya Brooks (she made 11 total) kept the score down. The USA was also able to knock the ball around quite a bit, saving legs for the semifinal in two days, but also creating many chances against a very withdrawn and condensed Jamaican defense.
The USA has now scored 53 goals through five games in the tournament and has yet to concede. Fourteen different players have scored, tying a record for a U.S. team in a Concacaf World Cup qualifying tournament, and fifteen players have recorded assists.
Follow the U-17 WNT throughout the tournament on ussoccer.com as well as U.S. Soccer Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
USA – Amalia Villarreal (Alyssa Gonzalez), 3rd minute – Gonzalez whipped a curled service from deep in the attacking third and Villarreal finished with a header from right on top of the penalty spot, looping the ball into the right side of the net to open the scoring. USA 1, JAM 0
USA – Charlotte Kohler, 32nd minute – Onyeka Gamero evaded pressure with some brilliant individual play on the right wing and sent a cross into the box. It deflected off a defender and toward the heart of the box, where Kohler ran onto the deflection and buried the ball into the upper right corner from 13 yards out. USA 2, JAM 0
USA – Riley Jackson (Amalia Villarreal), 41st minute – Jackson received the ball near the center of the field and dribbled forward. She then played a pass into the box for Villarreal, who back heeled a return pass to the sprinting Jackson. She took a touch and buried a shot from the left corner of the six-yard box into the lower right corner. USA 3, JAM 0
USA – Melina Rebimbas (Onyeka Gamero), 56th minute – Gamero received the ball on the right wing and took on two defenders as she dribbled into the box. She lobbed a cross toward the center of the box and Rebimbas redirected the ball into the net with her thigh from five yards out. USA 4, JAM 0
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Forward Amalia Villarreal’s opening goal marked her eighth goal of the tournament to lead the team while her assist to set up Riley Jackson’s goal marked her fourth of the competition.
- Villarreal’s goal was also the USA’s 50th of the tournament. No U.S. youth team has ever scored 50 goals in a Concacaf World Cup qualifying tournament.
- Alyssa Gonzalez’s assist to set up the opening goal was her second of the tournament.
- Midfielder Charlotte Kohler’s goal marked her sixth of the tournament.
- Midfielder Riley Jackson’s goal was her second of the tournament.
- Forward Melina Rebimbas’ goal marked her fifth of the tournament.
- Forward Onyeka Gamero’s assist to set up Rebimbas’ goal was her sixth of the tournament.
- Goalkeeper Abigail Gundry recorded two saves to record her third clean sheet of the tournament.
-U.S. UNDER-17 WOMEN’S YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT-
Match: United States Under-17 Women’s Youth National Team vs. Jamaica
Date: May 4, 2022
Competition: Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship – Quarterfinal
Venue: Estadio Panamericano; San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
Attendance: 50
Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET
Weather: 85 degrees, cloudy
Immediately after getting drafted, Maluach was asked: “So many people, when they think about Africa, think about strife, think about war, think about not so great things about the continent, let alone South Sudan. How much of a responsibility do you think you have in changing perceptions of what people think Africa is in terms of thinking more about the resources, thinking about the people of Africa and South Sudan, specifically?”
Maluach’s native country, South Sudan, is undergoing a humanitarian crisis. His family fled the country to a suburb of Kampala, Uganda, in search of safety and opportunity during the South Sudan crisis. He now hopes to change the narrative about the region by highlighting its good parts on the world stage.
“I think about showing them the good parts of Africa,” Maluach said at the press conference after he was drafted. “I’m thinking about showing them the great places in Africa, like Kigali, whether it’s Senegal, whether it’s the safaris in Africa, and showing them the cultures we have and the people we have, which is different from the stuff they see on TV. I just want to change the narrative, the narrative of our people and how they see my continent.”
Maluach was born in Rumbek, once an important city in South Sudan that was ravaged by the country’s civil war. The 7’2″ center’s road to success was far from easy. The nearest basketball court to his house was nearly an hour’s walk away and usually packed. Moreover, he played his first game in Crocs, not basketball shoes. But his dedication was enough to catch the eye of local coaches Wal Deng and Aketch Garang.
Through the effort that he put in, Maluach made it to the NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal, then to the Duke Blue Devils, and now the Suns. He hopes the moment inspires kids on the continent.
“Living in Africa, I had the whole continent on my back. Giving hope to young kids,” he said after the Suns selected him No. 10 overall.
Maluach considers basketball a gift God gave him, and hopes to finish off his NBA career as a Hall of Famer.
Nigeria’s women’s under-19 cricket team, the Junior Yellow Greens , made history by qualifying for the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, which is being held in Malaysia . The Junior Yellow Greens’ qualification made it the first female cricket team from Nigeria and West Africa as a whole to qualify for a World Cup.
The team’s outstanding performance in the regional qualifiers won them a spot. Despite a rain-soaked final match, they beat Zimbabwe on points earned during the group stages.
With this victory, Nigeria secured their place in Malaysia and made their second-ever appearance in a cricket World Cup. The male U-19 team competed in the 2020 edition in South Africa.
Victory Igbinedion, Naomi Memeh, Anointed Akhigbe, Amusa Kehinde, Omosigho Eguakun, Umoh Inyene, Beauty Oguai, Jessica Bieni, Usen Peace, Adeshola Adekunle, Deborah Bassey, Christabel Chukwuonye, Peculiar Agboya, Lilian Ude, and Lucky Piety are among the 15 players on the female team.
They now hope to make it to the semi-finals.
Brila reports that despite Nigeria’s 41-run (DLS method) loss to South Africa on Wednesday, their thrilling two-run victory over New Zealand earlier in the tournament and a shared point with Samoa guaranteed them a place as the second-best team in Group C.
The team will now face England on January 25 and Ireland on January 29, as they continue their quest for a historic semi-final appearance.
The 2025 ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, which runs from January 18 to February 2, started with 16 teams exhibiting some of the best young talents in women’s cricket .
This year’s tournament, the second edition of this worldwide event, features the top four teams from 2023—India, England, Australia, and New Zealand—along with four debutants: hosts Malaysia, Nepal, Samoa, and Nigeria.
In a bittersweet first half, Nigeria took the lead in stoppage time through Ademola Lookman and went into the break on top. Benítez’s side improved in the second half, but it was not enough. Nigeria stepped on the gas in the final half and Victor Osimhen made it 2-0 in the 78th minute before Ademola Lookman doubled the advantage in the 83rd minute. Nothing else happened in the match and Nigeria ran out 3-0 winners in the first match of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
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