Navi Mumbai: China started their campaign in the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, defeating Mexico 2-1 in a first-round clash in Group C here on Wednesday.
In another match in Group C: Spain defeated Colombia 1-0. In matches played in Goa, Canada held France 1-1 while Japan outplayed Tanzania 4-0 in Group D encounters at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The Mexican team was awarded a penalty in the 35th minute when Chinese defender Huang Jiaxin committed a handball inside the box, but Maribel Flores’ shot was denied by the crossbar.
China broke the deadlock in the opening minutes of the second half. Huang was knocked over in the box, giving China’s captain Qiao Ruiqi the chance to step up and convert the subsequent penalty.
Substitute Yu Xingyue doubled the lead for the young “Steel Roses” in the 90th minute after skipping through the defense in a counterattack and tipping the ball home, reports Xinhua.
Two minutes into the stoppage time, Katherin Guijarro pulled one back for Mexico. The Mexican girls almost leveled the match in the last minute, but the lethal volley shot from Valerie Vargas was saved by Chinese goalie Liu Chen.
In the Group D clash, Canada went ahead in the 57th minute when Annabelle Chukwa scored in the 67th minute after the two teams played out an evenly-contested first half.
But the lead did not stay for long as France levelled the score when Lucie Calba scored in the 73rd minute.
–IANS