USA and Korea DPR go head-to-head on Wednesday to book a final date with the winner of Spain v England
-
The first nation to book a U-17 Women’s World Cup final spot will be USA or Korea DPR
-
USA have not conceded a goal since facing Spain on the opening day
-
Korea DPR have won every game at the tournament so far
Matchday 9 of FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Dominican Republic 2024™ puts USA and Korea DPR in touching distance of the final, as they face off in a direct repeat of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ semi-final exactly six weeks prior.
Since falling to a 3-1 defeat to Spain on the opening day, USA have been in impeccable form, scoring nine and conceding none in their subsequent three games. Korea DPR, meanwhile, have not put a foot wrong since kick-off, maintaining their 100% record with a 1-0 win against Poland in the quarter-final.
CFC Stadium 19:00: Santiago de los Caballeros / Washington, DC 08:00 (Thursday): Pyongyang
The match
USA v Korea DPR at the U-17 Women’s World Cup is a fixture packed with history. These sides have faced twice in the group stage – a 1-1 draw in 2012 and a 3-0 victory for Korea DPR in 2018 – but you have to turn the pages back 16 years to find the momentous origins of this story. At the first ever final of this competition, the culmination of New Zealand 2008, Korea DPR came from behind to lift the trophy after winning 2-1 in extra time.
At Dominican Republic 2024, only one of these nations can find themselves in the final. Since an opening day defeat to Spain, USA have been electric; from minute one, Korea DPR have been flawless. Choe Rim-jong sits joint-top of the goal scorers chart with four goals while Kennedy Fuller and Mel Barcenas both have three, making for a tantalising attacking lineup on Wednesday evening.
Only Ri Kuk-hyang of Korea DPR misses this game through suspension.
From the archive: USA and Korea DPR compete at the tournament’s first edition in 2008
Key stats
-
This is the USA’s second semi-final appearance in the competition, defeating Germany 2-1 to reach the 2008 final
-
The USA have won three consecutive matches in the U-17 Women’s World Cup for the first time, and have only failed to score in three of their last 23 games
-
Korea DPR are through to their fifth semi-final in the tournament’s history, winning in three of their previous four appearances
-
Korea DPR have never lost to a Concacaf team (W6 D2) in this competition, and have not lost a knockout match in normal time since a 1-0 third place play-off defeat to Spain in 2010
What they said
“It’s [reaching the semi-finals] been our goal for this entire cycle. We always talk about little milestones and this is one of them – to get into a medal game. We take each game at a time – to get to the final we have to win the semi-final, so we can’t get ahead of ourselves.” Katie Schoepfer, USA Manager
“It’s [reaching the semi-finals] awesome. All credit to the team, from back to front, our gamechangers and every single member of the staff did it. We’re looking forward to the semi-finals – I’m so proud of every one of us.” Kennedy Fuller, USA joint-top scorer
“We will win.” Song Sung-gwon, Korea DPR coach, on facing USA in the semi-final
