African U-20 Women’s World Cup campaign under pressure as Benin and Tanzania suffer heavy defeats

Africa’s representatives endured another difficult day at the 12th FIFA U-20 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 world stage.

Sports247 reports that Benin Republic, making their debut in the tournament, were brutally exposed by Argentina in Group A, suffering an 8-0 defeat, while Tanzania’s Twiga Stars were thrashed by England 5-1 in Group B.

The results underline the difficult gap that African teams continue to face against some of the world’s established women’s football nations, as the continent struggles to make the desired impact in the early stages of the competition.

Tanzania’s defeat was particularly painful as the Nigerian-born Princess Ademiluyi helped England establish early control. The youngster opened the scoring in the ninth minute after connecting with Lia Vivienne, who later assisted Jessie Gale to score England’s fifth goal.

The Young Lionesses, bronze medalists in 2018 and who were competing in the tournament for the fifth time, dominated large periods of the match.

Rachel Maltby was the standout player, scoring a hat-trick, with all three goals coming from the penalty spot. She converted in the 15th minute after Lidya Vivienne was penalized, before scoring again in the 43rd minute after Elizabeth Mutimi conceded another penalty.

Mutimi was penalized again two minutes later, allowing Maltby to complete his hat-trick and further compound Tanzania’s misery.

Jamila Mnuduka scored Tanzania’s only goal in the 65th minute, but had to leave due to injury three minutes later.

Tanzania’s defeat leaves them facing a difficult final group match against Canada, while England will face Brazil in the main group match. Brazil currently lead Group B with six points after a 3-0 win 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 disheartening final encounter against hosts Poland, who defeated Mexico 2-1 and lead the group with six points, as reported by Sports247.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s Black Princesses are also under pressure in Group C after losing 3-0 to Ecuador in their opening match. Ghana will face Korea in their next outing.

With several African representatives already struggling, the continent will need a significant change in fortunes to avoid another disappointing performance at the world youth tournament. The remaining group matches now have enormous importance for Africa’s hopes of advancing further in the competition.