- Tanzania finished second in the group with four points
- They won one match and drew one
- Nigeria have also progressed to the quarter finals
On their debut at the global stage, Tanzania have made it into the quarter finals of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup after holding off Canada to a 1-1 draw in their final group stage match.
The Serengeti Girls have now accrued four points from a win and a draw bouncing back after losing their first match to Japan 4-0.
“I am really proud of the girls because they have given their all, we came from a goal down to tie. I am proud of what we have given and we have achieved the primary target we had. This victory belongs to all Tanzanians,” said head coach Bakari Shime after his side’s 1-1 draw with Canada.
He added; “It was not an easy match but we really needed to show a lot of character to bounce back and this shows the resilience we have as a team.”
“We know we are facing tougher matches in the coming round in the quarters and hopefully we continue in the same form.”
Found themselves trailing
Tanzania players celebrate. PHOTO/FIFA
Against Canada, they started well with Ubamba having a shot from range saved by the keeper before they had another effort with a header from a corner. However, they found themselves trailing after just 14 minutes when Amanda Allen converted a penalty after 14 minutes.
The goal gave the Canadians a boost of confidence and Allen came close with a shot on the turn from the edge of the area, but the keeper made a fingertip save.
However, Tanzania gave a fight and they levelled the scoring when Veronica Mapunda curled the ball into the net after the Canadian backline struggled to clear from a corner.
The second half was evenly contested between the two sides, each having chances to score, but none could add on to their tally. Canada finished third in the group with two points and missed out on a place in the last eight.
Japan, who beat Tanzania 4-0 on matchday one, topped the group with a 100pc record.
Tanzania won their first game, a 2-1 shock against France, to hand them confidence to vie for a place in the last eight.
Diana Mnally scores historic goal
Tanzania players celebrate their first ever World Cup goal by Mnally (right). PHOTO/FIFA
Diana Mnally made history, scoring Tanzania’s first ever goal at the World Cup before Christer Bahera added the second. France halved the deficit through Lucie Calba in the 77th minute, but Tanzania held on for their historic victory.
“We thank our coaches and also teammates for this effort. I am really delighted to have scored Tanzania’s first goal in the tournament. It is historic and never happened before so it gives me a lot of motivation and more so because we went on to win. I thank my coaches and everyone who supports me to get here,” said Mnally, who scored Tanzania’s first goal at the tournament.
Mnally opened the scoring in the 17th minute, when he connected sweetly from a corner, his swivelling volley rolling into the bottom of the corner. Tanzania had a chance to double their tally minutes later, but defender Kipanga placed her kick over the bar.
They however got their second goal in the second half, when Bahera stepped up, this time making no mistake and sending her kick to the roof of the net.
Nigeria also through
Nigeria players celebrate. PHOTO/FIFA
Meanwhile Nigeria have also managed to get through to the quarters after finishing second in their group with two wins. They beat New Zealand 4-0 and Chile 2-1 while losing to eventual group winners Germany 2-1 in their opening match.
Morocco failed to progress after finishing third in their group.
Nigeria faces USA while Tanzania takes on Colombia in their respective quarter final matches.
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