The group stage of the U-20 Women's World Cup in Colombia 2024 witnessed a record-breaking attendance, with 35,847 fans filling Medellin's Estadio Atanasio Girardot to watch the hosts defeat Mexico 1-0. The Colombia tournament also saw an expanded format with 24 teams, leading to a record-breaking 138 goals in the group stage, surpassing the previous record of 89 set in 2016.
Korea DPR made history at the tournament as well, becoming the third team to score 100 goals in U-20 Women's World Cup history, joining Germany and the USA. Another significant achievement came from Group B, where Brazil, Canada, Fiji, and France combined to score an astounding 40 goals, breaking the previous record of 33 goals in a single group from the 2016 edition. Venezuela also made a historic mark by earning their first-ever point in the competition after drawing 0-0 with Korea Republic, highlighting their progress in the tournament.
France, in particular, made headlines with their 11-0 victory over Fiji, setting three tournament records in one match. This became the largest victory margin, the most goals by a single team in a game, and the highest-scoring match in tournament history, breaking previous records held by Germany and China PR. Before France’s 11-goal haul, the most goals scored by any team in a match had been nine, a feat accomplished by Brazil, Canada, and Korea DPR in earlier games during the tournament.
Spain continued their impressive winning streak in the U-20 Women's World Cup, stretching their unbeaten run to eight matches, starting from their victorious 2022 campaign in Costa Rica. Only Germany and the USA have longer winning streaks, with 12 and 10 consecutive wins, respectively. Colombia, as host, also made it past the group stage, becoming the seventh host nation to do so, a feat that eluded Thailand, Chile, Papua New Guinea, and Costa Rica in previous tournaments.
Individual performances also shone during the group stage. Brazil's Vendito currently leads the tournament's top scorers with five goals. The last time a player scored more than five goals in the group stage was in 2012, when Korea DPR’s Kim Un-hwa netted seven goals. Argentina, despite a rocky start with a 6-2 loss to Korea DPR, managed to recover with a draw against the Netherlands and a victory over Costa Rica, securing their first-ever knockout stage qualification after four attempts.
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