The USA captured first place in Group D at the 2006 U-20 Women's
World Championship with a 1-0 win over France Thursday at Moscow's Dynamo Stadium.
Virginia forward
Jessica Rostedt scored the game-winner with a dipping shot from 20 yards in the 61st minute to move the Americans into the quarterfinals. They face Group C second-place finisher Germany, the 2004 U-19 world champion, on Sunday at Petrovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg. The USA-Germany clash is a rematch of the 2004 U-19s semifinals that Germany won, 3-1, in Thailand.
UCLA's
Val Henderson,
the third player to start in the U.S. goal in three games, came up big
with key saves on Bleuettes
Elodie
Thomis,
Sabrina
Belannoy and
Amandine
Henry.
USA-FRANCE
GAME SUMMARY
QUARTERFINALS:
Aug. 26 in Moscow
BRAZIL-NIGERIA
Renata Costa
is playing in her fourth world championship for Brazil.
The Falconets advanced with an 8-0 win over Finland (after
putting
33 shots on goal).
RUSSIA-CHINA
Elena
Danilova, the hosts' best player, was discovered at 11 running track.
China knocked out Canada with a 1-0 win on Ma Xiaoxu's fourth
goal of the tournament.
Aug. 27 in St. Petersburg
NORTH KOREA-FRANCE
The
surprise Koreans won all three group games, by a margin of 10-0.
French star Louisa
Necib is nicknamed "ZZ" after Zinedine Zidane,
like her raised in Marseilles to Algerian parents.
USA-GERMANY
U.S. striker Lauren
Cheney is back after missing the first two games with
an abdominal strain.
Celia Okoyuno
da Mbabi,
born to a Cameroonian father and French mother, starred on
Germany's '04 U-19 team.