UEFA Women's Champions League Review

Wheeling Away In Celebration: Martina Müller Gets Wolfsburg Closer To Retention

The FIFA u 17 World Cup is not the only women's competition advancing into the Semifinals. There's always the UEFA Champions League where Europe's elite are always squaring off. Four teams remain and the name to be on the trophy is getting more vivid.
The last game of the quarterfinals saw Arsenal ladies beaten by a comfortable Birmingham, 2-0 at the Hive Stadium in London. Remy Allen added another to her Birmingham tally as she already seems as a worthy buy then Kristy Linnett put the icing on the cake as the Blues ended the game 3-0 on aggregate to go on as England's only Rep remaining in the competition.
Birmingham's advancement means they face Tyresö FF who were held at Neulengbach to a nil-nil draw, an amazing improvement for Neulengbach, in response to their 8-1 defeat in Sweden where the damage was already done.
Elsewhere, FC Barcelona women succumbed to two additional goals by VFL Wolfsburg knocking them out of the competition convincingly with a 5-0 aggregate score line. Martina Müller scored her 7th goal of the competition and Nadine Kessler scored her second in the tie.
At least there would be one German side in the final as Turbine Potsdam added to their 8-0 first leg win over Torres CF. The Germans added 4 more goals and conceded one to win 12-1 on aggregate, a devastating loss for Torres. Potsdam will go on to face fellow Liga mates, VFL Wolfsburg women, in the Semifinals.
Birmingham City ladies join Fortuna, Duisburg, Lyon, Djurgarden, Frankfurt, and Wolfsburg as the only sides to have won at Arsenal, note that all made it to the finals at least, so you sense there's some good omen going along with them as Tyresö will be missing World great, Marta and Caroline Seger for the first leg of the semis.
Potsdam women last won the competition in 2010 but they couldn't retain it the next year when they lost to Lyon, the last time they returned to the final stage, while current champions VFL Wolfsburg defeated Lyon last year to win it for the very first time. These two sides know each other very well, it could be another Frauen Bundesliga game but it's more than that now, it's a tie that would decide who  stands a chance of winning the iconic trophy as the final in Lisbond beckons.

I feel like I mentioned Lyon a lot of times so I should probably add that this is the first final in the past four years that won't feature the French Champions.

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Thanks for reading. : )
- Sam.

Semi Finals Preview : FIFA u17 Women's World Cup

Japan, Favorites for the Cup

Tomorrow night in Costa Rica awaits more drama and heartbreak as the Fifa u17 Women's World Cup draws closer and closer to a conclusion. Two teams will be knocked out and will have to fight for third place position while the other two would advance into a position good enough to clinch one of the most prestigious prizes in women's youth football (or soccer.)

First of all, all eyes will be on Venezuela/Japan, as two of the most dominant forces in the competition face off and if you've watched either side play, you know this promises to be a cracker.

Then there's an European battle between Spain and Italy. Italy caused an upset in their last game against Ghana and that provides an interesting spectacle as they face (my personal dark horse pick) Spain. 

Let's lay the teams on paper shall we? A little analysis of the four teams.

Free Scoring Venezuela

Venezuela have produced great showpieces, especially their two very exciting forwards, Deyna Castellanos and Gabriela Garcia have 9, NINE, goals between them. Castellanos always in great positions and Garcia a power house of creativity, not forgetting her amazing goal against Canada in the quarters. 

However their midfield would have to work extra hard to get the ball from possessive Japan and upfield to their two potent strikers.

Composed Japan

Japan, 'the little Nadeshiko' as they known, are the favorites to win this tournament but this could be a little test of their defense as we already know the capability of their midfield and attack. Known for keeping the ball and determining the momentum of the game it's no surprise they haven't conceded a goal yet in this tournament. That's right, they have scored 17 goals in 4 games conceding none and against a team so free scoring like Venezuela I doubt they will change the game plan, probably try to keep the ball away from their opponents and prevent them from enjoying the game too much.

Yui Hasegawa is the teams' leading scorer with 4 goals.

Resilient Italy

Italy's goalkeeper has put in some amazing performances, Nicole Peressotti has won Italian hearts with her saves and was also Player of the Match in addition to upsetting Ghana. Italy's legendary male goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, is even a fan as he took to twitter to congratulate and wish the young 'Azzuris' luck. Italy are a powerful team and their performances are a showpiece of teamwork and amazing work rate.

Closing down Spain often would be key to qualifying from this round to the final for Italy and they need to do exactly just that. Gloria Marinelli and Annamaria Serturini both have 2 goals so they are most likely to get the goal or goals Italy need and number 10, Manuela Giugliano is indeed a playmaker.
Technical Spain
Spain had no problems whatsoever moving into this stage, proving too strong for Nigeria in the quarterfinals they are favorites for me to win this round and move to the finals. They have potent goal scorers in Nahikari García and Pilar Garrote, the pair have 7 goals between them, García with 4. While number 9, Patri Guijarro finally found her goal scoring boots for the tournament in the previous game, netting twice to sail the Spaniards to the semis.
Watch out for Laura Dominguez, she has incredible touches on the ball, good vision and bits of silky skills, she was brilliant in the last game. The technical ability of Spain is really great and could be enough to see off the Italians but they should really expect a fight.

With the breakdown of all teams remaining who do you think is ready for the final?
There's always an upset though.

These are my thoughts.
Give your feedback anyway you can.
Follow @thefemaledugout on twitter.
Thank You.
- Sam.

USA, Japan and Germany still top 3: FIFA Women's World Rankings

Closer to number 1: Germany Celebrate with the Algarve Cup

The FIFA Women’s World Ranking was dropped yesterday and there were little changes in the previous rankings. The top 10 welcomed England and said goodbye to Australia.

USA, Germany and Japan as expected are still first, second and third respectively but USA’s 72 point lead over Germany got reduced to 24, probably due to the recently ended run of the US undefeated streak and Germany’s outstanding performances in the Algarve Cup clinching the trophy by winning third placed Japan in the final. USA are now top of the pile for the sixth year running.

Brazil sank from 4^th to 6^th, as underachievers, France, moved to 4^th, having had a good run since after the Euro 2012 competition and also wining the Cyprus Cup, Sweden are in 5^th. Canada remained in 7^th position and England broke into the top 10 as they moved all the way from 11^th to 8^th position. The People’s Republic of Korea and Norway are in 9^th and 10^th respectively as Australia are just outside the top 10 descending from 8^th to 11^th.

The highest African team on the log is Nigeria at number 34, Cameroon and Ghana are next at 49^th and 50^th respectively. I found it unusual that there was a tie in the 30^th position. The Republic of Ireland and Thailand somehow have the same points as they both advanced into the number 30 spot.

Mentions also for Scotland who moved one position up to 19^th, India found themselves in 51^st position, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain experienced no changes as they are still found in number 12, 13, 14 and 15 respectively while at the bottom of the list there’s Kenya .

There’s always room for improvement for your country-if needed- as the next rankings would be coming out in late June.

Feel your country did well or worse? Post your comments below.

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Thank You.
- Sam.

FIFA u17 Women's World Cup Quarterfinals Round Up

Patri Guijarro roars victorious as Spain advance to the Semis

The FIFA under 17 Women's World Cup gradually moved towards the climax as four of the last eight teams were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the competition. Venezuela, Japan, Italy and Spain advanced into the Semis while Canada, Mexico, Ghana and Nigeria all got their roads cut short.
Hard Fought Venezuelan Victory

The quarterfinals started with a great match up between Venezuela and Canada. Venezuela’s Deyna Castellanos, Gabriela Garcia and Canada’s Marie Levasseur had 10 goals among them so it was no surprise the game ended in a five goal thriller.

The South Americans took the lead in the 6^th minute via the tournament’s top scorer, Deyna Castellanos trapping and finishing calmly from a low cross by Garcia that the Canadian defense should have dealt with. However, the young Reds of Canada reacted well, Marie Levasseur set up Sarah Kinzner for the equalizer in the 19^th minute. Levasseur has been impressive all tournament and just five minutes from half time she finished from a difficult angle to put the Canucks in front.

Canada had upset the odds in the previous game against Ghana but the Venezuelans were not having any of that, Yosneidy Zambrano was suddenly behind the Canadian defense and had time to pick her spot for the equalizer. The second half had only one goal in it and it was the vital one. Marie Levasseur’s effort could have easily been goal of the match until two minutes past the hour mark when Gabriela Garcia finished from an impossible angle after showing good strength and trickery. It was a befitting goal to win any match as she took home the Player of the Match award.
Japan roll over El Tri

The ‘Little Nadeshiko’ did enough to defeat Mexico with two goals to nothing. Twelve minutes from the kick off whistle, Japan’s Rikako Kobayashi turned her defender inside out at the edge of the box before delivering a low cross into the danger area, it only took a matter of time before striker Yui Hasegawa pounced and converted the chance.

Mexico did have chances and the most memorable was Viridiana Salazar effort that beat the keeper but got cleared off the line by Rana Okuma. Shortly after the second half started Mexico’s Gabriela Martinez fouled goal scorer Hasegawa in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Yui Hasegawa stepped up to double her tally but Mexican goal keeper, Emily Alvaro, was up to the task however she was beaten by the rebound enforced by Hina Sugita, who wheeled away in celebration of her 4^th goal of the tournament.

El Tri tried to come back into the game by responding quickly, striker Jacqueline Crowther shot just wide but despite that, Japan were the better side and it was a well-deserved victory as they advanced into the next phase.
Italy upset the odds on Penalties

Elsewhere, there was finally an upset in the round as Ghana got eliminated at the hand of Italy on penalties. It was definitely the most controversial match of the night as there were lots of questionable decisions made by the officials.

Ghana started brightly, a cross from Ghana’s Niber Lawrence found the head of defender Jane Ayieyam who directed the ball quite perfectly into the net past the Italian keeper, as early as the third minute.

Italy equalized not too long, a well taken direct free kick by Lisa Boattin found Gloria Marinelli, who executed a well looped header that dropped into the back of the net, nothing the Ghanaian keeper could do about that.

In the 17^th minute the referee blew for a foul in the box after an Italian corner, it seemed to be a soft decision; however Italy’s number 10, Manuela Giugliano, took the kick confidently to equalize the Africans.

The Italians were offered another penalty in the second half and it looked quite harsh once more against Ghana, Manuela Giugliano this time missed from the spot as she blasted the ball well over. Ghana continued to struggle for an equalizer and after a corner kick, lots of scrambling in the box the ball hit the bar and somehow it ended inside Italy’s net but the goal was ruled out for offside. The replay showed otherwise, another questionable decision.

Ghana didn’t give up and in the 90^th minute the Ghanaians finally pulled level! The black starlets got a free kick, Ernestina Abambila with a wonder strike from about 25 yards out! The Ghanaians were absolutely overjoyed as they took the game to penalties.

Italy missed only one spot kick-their first while Ghana missed their second and fourth leaving matters into the Europeans’ hands as Marta Vergani calmly put the Italians into the Semis with the last kick.
Spain too strong for Nigeria 

Finally, Nigeria faced Spain in the last game of the quarters and the Spaniards were just too strong for the Africans. It started in the 14^th minute when Nigerian defender Emenayo brought down Andrea Falcon in the penalty box after giving the ball away without being under any pressure. Spanish striker Patri Guijarro placed the ball in the bottom right corner to give the Europeans the lead from the spot.

Nigeria tried to have an effect as their top scorer Uchenna Kanu shot way wide off target. Laura Dominguez showed beautiful footwork to get past Nigeria’s Joy Bokiri sliding the ball into the path of Nahikari Garcia but the Nigerian keeper rushed to claim the ball.

In the 58^th minute, Laura Dominguez was in the thick of it again as she lofted a perfect through ball that confused the Nigerian defense, finding Garcia once again and this time she made no mistake in doubling the lead.

I felt Laura Dominguez was having a master class of a game as once again she was in the thick of it. The midfield trickster set up Sandra Hernandez who fired on target, Nigerian goalkeeper, Okeke had gotten away with a few scrambled saves but Patri Guijarro finally made her pay for this one, stretching the lead 3 goals to nothing. There was nothing the Nigerians could do, Spain in cruise control with full steam ahead into the semifinals.

It’s worth knowing that Yui Hasegawa, Nicole Peressotti and Patri Guijarro all collected the Player of the Match award in their respective games.

The Semi Finals is definitely an exciting spectacle. Free scoring Venezuelans will face favorites Japan and at least one European team will be in the finals as Spain and Italy battle it out.

Sorry it's quite long, had to detail a lot.
Any Views?
Post your comments below.
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Thank You for viewing.
- Sam.

Sorry Readers

This blog has been active for less than a week so I know I don't really have readers but as for those who somehow manager to stumble on here, whether those in search of female football (or soccer)  news, information or for some alternative reason, this apology is for you.
I really wanted to do a match report on all the u17 games after watching them but I had an early test, lots of interviews and paperwork to do.
I know the pain of searching for valid Women's football information on the internet and not finding exactly what you are looking for and that's part of the motivation of starting this, even if it's just posting the obvious.
I really hope to do this often so please accept my apology.
I'll try to compress all the match reports somehow in the next post, probably as a round up, like I've been doing for a while.
Thanks for all your Views.
Sam.
...yeah and please do try and comment on the posts. Feed back is always good.

Barcelona Women extend the lead at the top against 2nd Placed Athletic Club : Spanish Women's Primera Round Up

On Target: Jennifer Hermoso puts Barcelona confidenlty on top

Yesterday was quite quiet concerning Women’s Football as there was very little action. In the Spanish League referred to as ‘Primera División de la Liga de Fútbol Femenino’ there was a top of the table clash as 2 times defending champions and league leaders FC Barcelona welcomed 2^nd placed Athletic Club with the intention of extending their lead at the top of the table.

The game was a bit of an end to end stuff as both teams threatened but there was no impact on the score line. Athletic seemed to have quite a lot of chances but couldn’t find a way to put the ball where it really mattered, in the back of the net.

As the game settled past the half hour with 16 minutes of normal time to go, Jennifer Hermoso finally made a chance count for Barcelona. The new signing from Sweden’s Tyresö FF made it a goal to nothing as the Athletic club tried to find a way back into the game but the goal never came.

Surprisingly FC Barcelona withdrew star players Soni-Sonia Bermúdez- and Alexia Putellas quite early in the second half, subbed off probably because of their UEFA Women’s Champions League second leg clash against VFL Wolfsburg, it seems they still relish their chances to overturn the 3 nil deficit.

Barcelona with that 1-0 win have now taken matters into their own hands in the league as they now hold a 14 point lead at the top of the table, although Athletic Club have a game in hand I doubt that matters if they are looking to fight for the title as Barcelona are in position to win it for the third time in a row.

At the bottom of the table, Granada are 7 points away from safety the only team worse than them are Levante Las Planas who are 5 points away from 14^th placed Sevilla.

As the title seems destined to go to Barcelona at the top end of the table I think the other end of the table has the better intrigue, the distance between 14^th and 9^th is just 5 points, a slip by any of the clubs just about the relegation could cost them if and only if the bottom two do put up a good fight.

FC Barcelona’s Soni is the top scorer in the liga with 23 goals, despite Granada’s position they have a top scorer in Noelia Aybar nicknamed ‘Rivi’ who is second on the log with 18 goals, second placed Athletic have Erika Vázquez also with 18 goals and María Paz Vilas is fourth on the top scorers list with 16 goals. Soni seems the favorite to win the top scorer award; she finished the previous season with 21 goals.

These are my thoughts post yours in the comments below.
Follow @thefemaledugout on twitter.
Thank You.
- Sam.

Emotions Run High as the U17 Women's World Cup prepare for Quarterfinals Knockout Stage

Saskia Meier face down in tears as Germany leave the tournament

The FIFA u17 Women’s World Cup leaves the group stages and progresses to the knockout phase. The tournament is known for producing the next top stars of the future and has lived up to expectation in terms of drama, passion, good football-soccer- and lots of goals.

Though they are youngsters I felt it was great to watch as they displayed emotions responding to the agony of defeat and the ecstasy of victory.

In Group B for example on the final day of the group games, North Korea and Germany both fought hard to gain 3 points in order to qualify but with dependence on the result in the other game. Canada who had drawn- tied- both of their first two games were facing group leaders Ghana and then Canada’s Marie Levasseur scored two goals in the first half that did enough to ensure that the result in the North Korea/Germany game would mean nothing to them. North Korea edged Germany in a 4-3 thriller leaving Germany winless in the group and bottom of the table, they seemed to be the favorites to top the group but somehow they weren’t even close. North Korea bowed out as well, but on a high.

  No group was as dramatic as group B but still there was excitement in them all. Venezuela trashed all teams in their group conceding not a single goal, topping group A and putting them in a confident position against opponents in the knockout round. Italy progressed as well with 6 points leaving Zambia and host nation Costa Rica both exiting the tournament. The host nation had a disappointing tournament but had something to keep as in the last game they finally recorded a goal as early as the third minute against Zambia despite losing again.

In Group C Japan topped the group confidently, winning all games, scoring 15 goals and conceding none. The Japanese youngsters look like the team to beat and their opponents in the next round should be wary of them. Spain qualified second with 6 points while New Zealand and Paraguay both left the competition with just a point.

Finally in group D, African heavyweights Nigeria also won all games amassing 9 points, Mexico were second and there was nothing China or Colombia could do in their game to threaten the qualifying positions despite China defeating the South Americans by 3 goals to 1.

In the Quarterfinals knockout phase, Canada would have to continue to defy all odds as they take on Venezuela, Japan face North America’s Mexico, Ghana clash with Italy and Nigeria match up with Spain.

The competition’s leading goal scorer is Venezuela’s Deyna Castellanos with 4 goals whom Canada will have to be wary of, although they have a goal threat of their own in their hero of the group stages, Marie Levasseur, who has 3 goals. 

Among the 15 goals Japan have scored in the tournament Hina Sugita has the highest percentage, she has 3 to her name. Nigeria’s Uchenna Kanu is a deadly force to reckon with, she has scored a goal in each game, Spain also have their fair share of top scorers, Pilar Garrote and Nahikari Garcia both have 3 goals and the other player with 3 in the competition is Gabriela García of free scoring side, Venezuela.

All these taken into consideration the quarterfinals tends to be a feisty match up and I look forward to it to see some good display, good football and good goals, unfortunately someone has to lose and someone must win but that’s what instigates the passion of these youngsters. 

At the moment I would say Japan are favorites for the cup, the winner between Spain and Nigeria could make the finals, I think Nigeria/Spain are dark horses.

These are my thoughts post yours in the comments below.
Follow @thefemaledugout on twitter.
Thank You.
- Sam.

Arsenal/Birmingham only fixture with all to play for in the next leg in Women's Champions League Round Up.

Birmingham defeating Arsenal a goal to nil yesterday concluded the UEFA Women's Champions League Quarterfinals first leg results. The blues defeated the Gunners thanks to new signing Remi Allen's strike in the 26th minute.Arsenal had no shot on target when compared to their opponents who had 5 on target and despite having all the corners in the game none could give them the goal they were looking for. But they could still make amends in the second leg as the score remained 1-0.
Elsewhere, Austrian outfit SV Neulengbach traveled to Sweden and got and 8-1pounding at the hands of their hosts, Tyresö.After  Tyresö FF's emphatic 8-1victory over SV Neulengbach, Turbine Potsdam's 8-0 victory over Torres CF away from home and current champions VFL Wolfsburg defeating Spanish champions FC Barcelona 3-0 the Arsenal/Birmingham result could or definitely is the only one with all to play for in the second leg.

The most shocking among all the results is definitely the one between Torres and Potsdam, not because Potsdam defeated Torres as they were the favorites but because of the manner they did. Conceding 8 goals in your home in a single leg of a Champions League quarterfinal is woeful and even the Potsdam manager Bernd Schröder has expressed his surprise at the result.
Tyresö are newcomers to the UEFA champions league and I have always tipped them to go far, why wouldn't I? When you consider the fact that they have one of the most dangerous attacks in Europe.
Any defense would have a torrid time dealing with Christen Press, Verónica Boquete and Brazilian great, Marta. Neulengbach had no chance really and credit to them for getting a goal although it came from a mistake in the Tyresö defense but 8-1 is a bad result nonetheless especially when you have made it so far in a competition, least they could do was try to defend deep to prevent more goals but it seemed that as soon as the third goal had gone in the Austrian heads had  dropped.
It seemed like training practice when Press wrapped up her hat trick with a very decent curler before Marta completed her own hat trick during the last minutes of the game, the assist came from Press.
She had a good game, Christen Press and is now the tournament top scorer with 7 goals. 
Then finally, VFL Wolfsburg continued going strong in the tournament, the defending champions won Barcelona 3-0, definitely not a scoreline as outrageous as the previous two but it was really a one sided game and a great game of football -or soccer-.
The Barcelona defense really did well in keeping a good defensive line to prevent Wolfsburg's strike pair Alexandra Popp and Martina Müller from enjoying the game too much but they couldn't hold for so long as Lena Goessling played a great ball which caught the Spanish defense off guard, Lina Magull was the one this time who beat the offside trap and square played the ball to captain Nadine Kessler, side footing the ball in the back to the net.
It was an impressive display by Wolfsburg who controlled the midfield with their two world class center midfielders, Goessling and Kessler. Swede international, Nilla Fischer played out of position in center back for Wolfsburg but Barcelona had little chance to try to exploit that although Fischer had a good game and looked quite comfortable in that position. Wolfsburg went on to add two more goals via Martina Müller and right back Zsanett Jakabfi.
It's hard to see Barcelona overturn the first leg defeat in the return leg as well as the other teams who lost their fixtures too. So we do have a clear picture of the teams who are in the semis except the Arsenal/Birmingham game of course which both teams are still in contention for the next round.
Maybe it's time for UEFA to reconstruct the seedlings for the next champions league to prevent such results in a quarterfinal. Don't get me wrong I love goals but I also enjoy watching a bit of competitive football once in a while.
It's also worth knowing that little history was made in the Champions League as Birmingham's Jess Carter became the youngest player in Women's Champions League history and the second youngest in the Champions League as a whole (both male and female).

These are my thoughts post yours in the comments below.
Follow @thefemaledugout on twitter.
Thank You.
- Sam.

Welcome

Football is the world's most beautiful game and can be played by the most beautiful beings on earth. From Europe to all other continents down to Antarctica ;) I'll be reviewing any and every action that takes place on the female football or soccer (if you are American) so Enjoy!