Chukwu on target as Canadian women thump Fiji at FIFA U-20 World Cup

MEDELLÍN, Colombia — Annabelle Chukwu scored three goals as Canada thumped tournament debutante Fiji 9-0 on Tuesday at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

It was a record goal haul at the tournament for Canada, which blanked host Thailand 7-0 in 2004. Canada totalled just three goals at the 2022 tournament.

Olivia Smith and Kayla Briggs had two goals apiece for Canada, which led 7-0 at the half at the 44,826-capacity Atanasio Girardot Stadium. Second-half goals came from Ella Ottey and Ella McBride.

Chukwu and Smith did their damage in the first half, and were substituted at the break.

Canada outshot Fiji 35-5 (19-1 in shots on target) and had 16 corners to two for the outgunned Pacific Islanders. Fiji's lone chance came on a Narieta Leba free kick in the 83rd minute that was easily handled by goalkeeper Noelle Henning.

The Canadians opened play Saturday with a 3-3 draw against France thanks to a late goal by Chukwu.

While Canada has participated in nine of the 11 FIFA U-20 World Cups held to date, Tuesday's win was its first at the tournament since a 1-0 victory over North Korea in group play at the 2014 competition that Canada hosted. That win, courtesy of a Janine Beckie goal, also marked Canada's last clean sheet at the tournament.

The Canadian women, who missed out on the 2018 edition, exited the 2016 and 2022 tournaments after losing all three group games. Before Tuesday, Canada had been outscored 26-6, including a 2-0 loss to Germany in the 2014 quarterfinals, in going 0-7-1 since the 2014 North Korea win.

Fiji, beaten 9-0 by Brazil in its opener, qualified as runner-up in last year's OFC U-19 Women's Championship — blanked 7-0 by New Zealand in the final.

Canada wraps up Group B play Friday against Brazil in Bogota while France faces Fiji. Canadian defender Jadea Collin will miss that game after picking up her second yellow card of the tournament.

The newly expanded 24-team tournament runs through Sept. 22 at four stadiums in Bogota, Cali and Medellin. Austria, Cameroon and Morocco are the other first-time entries at the tournament.

The top two teams in each of the six groups advance to the round of 16, along with the four best third-placed teams.

Brazil booked its ticket to the knockout round by blanking France 2-0 in the other Group B game earlier Tuesday,

The Group B winner will face a third-place team while the runner-up will meet the second-place team in Group F (North Korea, Argentina, Costa Rica or the Netherlands).

Brazil, the defending CONMEBOL under-20 champions, is one of only four teams to have qualified for all 11 editions of the FIFA tournament. The Brazilians have finished third twice, including in 2022, and fourth twice.

Facing three group games in a week, Canada coach Cindy Tye made seven changes to her starting 11 from the team that tied France. Only Smith, Ottey, Zoe Markesini and Amanda Allen retained their place.

Smith captained the team, with Florianne Jourde, who led the team out against France, on the bench.

Markesini and Allen were also withdrawn at the half.

The Fiji starting 11 featured three players based in the U.S. including 15-year-old goalkeeper Aliana Vakaloloma (Spokane Shadow). Despite the lopsided score, Vakaloloma did her bid to prevent the Canadians from reaching double figures and the Fijians attempted several late attacks off corners.

It was one-way traffic the rest of the way with Smith opening the scoring in the seventh minute.

Canada appeared to have made it 2-0 in the 14th minute when Vakaloloma fumbled Smith's corner delivery but the ball was ruled to have gone out of play before crossing the goal line.

Smith, who turned 20 last month, was 15 when she made her senior debut for Canada and has already won 10 senior caps. Smith, who plays for England's Liverpool, and Allen, who is with the NWSL's Orlando Pride, are the two professional players in the Canada squad.

Canada added first-half goals from Chukwu (24th minute), Smith (28th), Briggs (32nd), Chukwu (34th), Briggs (35th), and Chukwu (41st).

Chukwu, a 17-year-old from Ottawa who is a freshman at Notre Dame, came into the game with 10 goals in 10 outings at the under-20 level.

Canada outshot Fiji 20-2 (10-0 in shots on target) in the first half.

Second-half goals came from Ottey (54th) and McBride (67th via a long-range cross).

Host Canada finished runner-up to the U.S. in 2002, the first edition of the tournament when it was still an under-19 event.

The Canadian women reached the quarterfinals in 2004 and 2014, failing to make it out of the group stage on five other occasions.

Canada qualified for the 2024 tournament in early June, with Chukwu scoring twice in extra time en route to a 5-3 comeback win over Costa Rica in the third-place match at the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2024.