There has hardly been a tighter preliminary round in the history of the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup (WWC) than is being witnessed in Canada presently as the competition heads into the final group games with all to play for.
With only France on safe grounds for a quarter-final place, the moment of truth has arrived for all other teams in Groups C and D who still nurture hopes of making it to the next round.
Nigeria play England, Mexico play South Korea in Group C. In Group D, it will be a battle of nerves in the New Zealand v Costa Rica match and France against Paraguay tie.
Nigeria's 2-1 win against South Korea has boosted the Falconets’ morale ahead of the England match, hoping to use their physical strength and their unrelenting attack to their advantage.
With four points in their bags, the Falconets can afford to draw against England and still qualify. But such a result for England will leave the English with a nervous wait to know their fate which depends on the outcome of the Mexico-South Korea game.
However, that is not on the cards for the Nigerians, as Coach Peter Dedevbo insists his ladies are determined to top the group and that will be their motivation going up against England.
England have two points just as Mexico, and should the Mexicans slip against South Korea, then a draw could be good for the English. On the other hand, if the South Koreans win by a big margin, then they could be on their way to the next round at the expense of England.
In Group D, both New Zealand and Paraguay stand a chance to go through provided they win. It looks more like a realistic chance for New Zealand who will be out to claim the points against Costa Rica.
It will be tough for Paraguay to beat France, but in football anything can happen.
