Africa’s representatives endured another difficult day at the 12th FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, with Benin Republic and Tanzania suffering heavy defeats that have raised fresh concerns about the continent’s performance on the global stage.
Sports247 reports that Benin Republic, making their debut at the tournament, were brutally exposed by Argentina in Group A, suffering an 8-0 defeat, while Tanzania’s Twiga Stars were thrashed 5-1 by England in Group B.
The results underline the challenging gap African teams continue to face against some of the world’s established women’s football nations, with the continent struggling to make the desired impact in the early stages of the competition.
Tanzania’s defeat was particularly painful as Nigeria-born Princess Ademiluyi helped England establish early control. The youngster opened the scoring in the ninth minute after connecting with Lia Vivienne, who later provided the assist for Jessie Gale to score England’s fifth goal.
The Young Lionesses, bronze medallists in 2018 and appearing at the tournament for the fifth time, dominated large periods of the encounter.
Rachel Maltby was the standout performer, scoring a hat-trick, with all three goals coming from the penalty spot. She converted in the 15th minute after Lidya Vivienne was penalised, before scoring again in the 43rd minute after Elizabeth Mutimi conceded another penalty.
Mutimi was penalised again two minutes later, allowing Maltby to complete her hat-trick and further compound Tanzania’s misery.
Jamila Mnuduka scored Tanzania’s only goal in the 65th minute, but was forced off with an injury three minutes later.
Tanzania’s defeat leaves them facing a difficult final group match against Canada, while England will meet Brazil in the group’s headline fixture. Brazil currently lead Group B with six points after a 3-0 victory over Canada, with England on four points.
In Group A, Benin’s 8-0 humiliation against Argentina leaves the debutants with just one point and a daunting final encounter against hosts Poland, who defeated Mexico 2-1 and lead the group with six points, Sports247 gathered.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s Black Princesses are also under pressure in Group C after losing 3-0 to Ecuador in their opening fixture. Ghana will face Korea in their next outing.
With several African representatives already struggling, the continent will need a significant turnaround in fortunes to avoid another disappointing showing at the global youth tournament. The remaining group matches now carry enormous importance for Africa’s hopes of progressing deeper into the competition.
