The United States U-17 women’s national team is out of the 2022 U-17 World Cup after falling to Nigeria 1-1 (4-3) in penalty kicks during the quarterfinals Friday in Navi Mumbai, India. The two teams ended regulation in a 1-1 tie, with Amalia Vilarreal equalizing for the U.S. following a controversial penalty call that enabled Nigeria to go up 1-0.
During penalties, Nigeria took home the victory, having made all four shots to the USWNT’s three. The U.S. outshot Nigeria 27-8 and finished with a 15-4 advantage in corner kicks. Despite that offensive advantage, the Americans managed only three shots on goal. Since the U-17 World Cup’s inception in 2008, the USWNT has never won the tournament. This was their second-highest finish after taking second in 2008. Previous tournaments had featured the team either not qualifying or failing to advance past the group stage, but this year marked the first time the Americans won their group. It’s the second youth World Cup loss this year for the USWNT, as the U-20 team failed to advance from the group stage in their own tournament. They last won the U-20 event in 2012.
