Germany, Venezuela’s first big challenge at the U-20 Women’s World Cup (+Photos)

Germany’s U-20 women’s team, who have won the World Cup trophy three times, will take to the field in Bogotá on Sunday with the intention of beating Venezuela, while Nigeria and South Korea are also looking for the best result in the start of Group D of the World Cup being played in Colombia.

Germany coach Kathrin Peter will be without injured midfielder Paulina Platner for the first match.

However, after completing pre-tournament preparations with a behind-closed-doors friendly against Japan, Peter said the team is “on the right track”.

In the absence of a superstar, the Germans are banking on their team cohesion for success. “As a team we have good cohesion and we don’t have any megastars. Of course, each member is special and strong in their own way, but our superpower is team spirit,” said defender Jella Veit.

The challenges for Venezuela are not minor. The first obstacle to overcome is Germany in what will be the start of the second participation of the oil-producing nation after its debut in Papua New Guinea 2016.

The memories for the Venezuelans are not the best: In the opening match, they lost to the Europeans 3-1.

They also carry the burden of adverse results from the last World Cup, in which Venezuela lost all three of its group stage matches in 2016, while Germany have only lost two of their last 19 group stage matches at the tournament.

Nigerian and South Korean women make their debut in Bogotá

Nigeria and South Korea, who will also play at the Techo stadium in Bogotá, hope to start the tournament with good results and begin to pave the way to the next phase.

Nigerian women have always been present at the World Cup, having participated in all eleven editions held to date.

They have made it past the group stage in eight of the previous nine editions, making them a strong opponent in this phase of the competition. All but two of the squad members play in the country.

“I think we are getting closer to our goal. As Africans, we have a spiritual outlook. We are confident and I am sure that Africa will be at the top of the world for the first time,” Nigeria coach Christopher Danjuma Musa was quoted as saying on FIFA’s website.

Meanwhile, South Korea will be looking to shake off its poor form after losing all three of its matches against Nigeria in the tournament, including the previous edition in Costa Rica, where it was eliminated in the group stage.

The team is almost exclusively national, only the defender Chang Seoyoon plays abroad.

Nigeria have lost just two of their last 22 group games at the tournament, while the Asians have won just three of their last 11 U-20 Women’s World Cup matches.

Bogota / EFE