CHRISTCHURCH – An entertaining 2-2 draw in Christchurch between Brazil and Nigeria was not enough to see either team advance from Group D, as Korea Republic beat England in the other encounter to move level with the Young Lionesses on six points.

On a cold wet evening 1,400 fans braved the conditions to witness a lively end to end encounter – with both teams desperate for a win to keep their World Cup dream alive

Nigeria started the game brightly but, as against England, they were unable to make the most of their opportunities. Ebere Orji, Amarachi Okoronkwo and Ngozi Okobi all had palpable chances, but found Brazilian keeper Aline on her mettle.

Instead, it was Brazil who opened the scoring on 35 minutes; Ketlen, who had impressed throughout, let fly from 20 metres to beat Nigerian keeper Marbel Egwuenu.

Juliana Cardozo almost repeated the dose two minutes later, with a shot that hit the bar.

Nigeria equalised just before the break when Orji put in Okoronkwo’s cross, despite an initial save from Aline.

After the break, Nigeria continued to dominate, but a foul by Orji on Brazil’s Thais saw the former sent off after 61 minutes.

Brazil dominated possession following the red card and used their one man advantage to the full, putting the pressure on the Nigerian defence.

Rafaelle scored arguably the goal of the tournament in the 71st minute when she smashed a 35 yard free kick into the top corner of the Nigerian net to regain the lead for her side

But Nigeria weren’t about to give up and their ten players rallied together attacking Brazil and were rewarded with an equalizer when Okoronkwo scored on 75 minutes.

Her pace exposed the flat footed Brazilian defence and their dream lived on. Had Nigeria scored a late winner they would have progressed at the expense of England in Group D, but it was not to be and both sides now head for home.

It was en eventful night for Nigerian goal scorer Ebere Orji, who was later sent off.

"We only needed one more goal. Now we know that missed opportunities can never be put right.

"The only thing that we can do is to work hard to improve ahead of subsequent competitions. Even so, I think that if we’d played with eleven players the whole game, then we would have won."

Brazilian playmaker Ketlen was proud of Brazils final performance.

"We knew that this would be a tricky match to handle. But after two defeats, we got our chins back up and put in a better performance. We showed how Brazilians really play."

Photo courtesy of FIFA Media / Foto-net

Group D Final Standings:

Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Korea Republic 3 2 0 1 6 3 6
England 3 2 0 1 4 3 6
Nigeria 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
Brazil 3 0 1 2 3 7 1

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup – New Zealand 2008

 

Brazil (1) 2 (17. KETLEN 35′; 6. Rafaele 71′)

Nigeria (1) 2 (17. Orji 43′; 10. Amarachi OKORONKWO)

QEII Stadium

Christchurch

New Zealand

Wednesday 6 November 2008

Kick-off: 19h00

Attendance: 1410

BRA: 1. ALINE [gk]; 2. THATIANE; 3. THAYNARA, 4. TUANI ©, 5. BRUNA, 6. RAFAELE, 7. THAIS  , 9. RAQUEL (19. RAFAELA 61’),15. JULIANA CARDOZO (16. TAIANA 88’), 17. KETLEN, 18. JULIANA (8. RAFAELA BARONI 58’);

Substitutes Not Used: 12. EDUARDA [rgk]13.CARINE, 14. FERNANDA, 20. ANA , 21. DANIELE [rgk]. 11. FRANCIELE;

Yellow cards: 7. THAIS 23’;

Red cards: None.

Coach: Marcos GASPAR (BRA)

NIG: 12. Marbel EGWUENU [gk] ©; 3. Doris EWHUBARE  4.Martina OHADUGHA, 10. Amarachi OKORONKWO, 11. Amenze AIGHEWI; 14. Soo ADEKWAGH, 15. Helen UKAONU, 16. Regina MACFANCY, 17. Ebere ORJI, 18. Josephine CHUKWUNONYE 20. Ngozi OKOBI;

Subtitutes Not Used: 1. Favour OKEKE [rgk], 21. Asebe ADAMU [rgk], 2. Nina EGEONU;5. Maria NWOKO, 7. Eno UMOH, 8. Ngozi EBERE, 19. Prudent UGOH; 6. Gloria OFOEGBU, 9. Desire OPARANOZIE; 13. Valentine IBE;

Yellow Cards: 16. Regina MACFANCY 40’; 17. Ebere ORJI 52’; 61’

Red Cards: 17.Ebere ORJI 61’;

Coach: IBE UKWU Felix (NIG)

Referee: Natalia AVDONCHENKO (RUS)

Assistant Referee 1: Maria LISICKA (SVK)

Assistant Referee 2: Judit ROMANO (ESP)

4th official: WANG Jia (CHN)