Norway's under-17 women beat Ghana 3-0 for a first World Cup win
Two goals in the first 13 minutes and a late second from Maia Melgard gave Norway a 3-0 win over Ghana in Rabat on Sunday, the country's first victory at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, at its second appearance at the tournament.
RABAT: Norway's under-17 women recorded the country's first ever win at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup on Sunday, beating Ghana 3-0 in their opening Group C match at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat. The Ghana Football Association, reporting the match for the losing side, called it Norway's maiden victory in the tournament, a milestone the squad had travelled to Morocco aiming for: this is Norway's second appearance at the finals, after a group stage exit on their debut last year, according to tournament broadcaster DAZN.
The match was effectively settled in its first quarter of an hour. Sara Isabella Lepore opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a strike from 30 yards that went in off the underside of the crossbar, the Ghana association reported, and Maia Melgard doubled the lead in the 13th minute, shifting the ball onto her left foot and curling it home after Hanne Nesse had laid it off at the edge of the box. The official play-by-play data records the same scorers and minutes: Lepore on six minutes, Melgard on 13.
Ghana, returning to the tournament after missing the last edition, improved after half-time and came closest when substitute Cynthia Obinsrewuo was sent clean through, only for Norway goalkeeper Erla Braathen to stand tall and deny her, the Ghana association reported. Braathen, Lepore, Melgard and Nesse are all named in the Norway squad listing published by DAZN, in goal, midfield and attack respectively.
Melgard completed the scoring in the 80th minute, the play-by-play data shows, sealing her second goal of the evening and the 3-0 result. The Ghana association described the third as another effort from distance, Melgard cutting inside before beating goalkeeper Belinda Manu Aklie. The win puts three points on the board for Elise Brotangen's side in a group that also contains Brazil and Canada.
Norway's group campaign continues quickly. They play Canada on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and Brazil on Saturday, Oct. 24, according to the fixture listing published by DAZN, which also sets out the route on offer: the top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stages automatically, joined by the four best third-placed sides. After a debut tournament last year that ended in the group stage, a first win at these finals is the platform Norway came for.
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