Group D: Japan, Poland, Brazil, Zambia

The group stages of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Dominican Republic 2024™ have concluded, with the knockout stages set to be intriguing as teams with different styles of play bid to be crowned world champions. Japan and Poland progressed from Group D and here, Vanessa Bernauer, from our Technical Study Group (TSG), summarises how each of the four teams fared.

In possession
Japan showed versatility in their attacking play, making tactical adjustments in-game to adapt to the challenges or opportunities that were presented by their opponents. A nice example of this was in their second group-stage match against Brazil, where their forward player Miharu Shinjo (14) began dropping into midfield to be an extra player instead of being isolated and difficult to reach in the build-up play. Their players are technical and skilful, but at times they did not move the ball as quickly as they were capable of doing. Japan were strong in wide-area play, both in 1v1 situations and when crossing the ball, with strong supporting runs to the penalty area from midfielders and opposite-side forwards.

Out of possession
When defending, they like to high press but notably always have a solid rest defence setup holding in support of their attacking play.

In possession
In possession, Poland utilised a 1-3-5-2 system with quite a direct style of play. Their key strengths in generating goalscoring opportunities comes from their well-orchestrated set play routines, where they have had significant successes, including scoring directly from a pre-planned kick-off tactic. Attacking midfielder Weronika Araśniewicz (15) likes to get on the ball and can advance the play when she is on the pitch.

Out of possession
Out of possession, Poland press high when they can but if they cannot get high pressure on the ball, they are happy to drop deep into a block and work very hard in their defensive phases. They are extremely difficult to break down and did not concede a single goal in the group stages. Their goalkeeper, Julia Woźniak (1), has been an important player to date, making some crucial saves and was named Player of the Match in the final group game against Brazil.

In possession
Brazil’s two defensive midfielders, Larissa Forte (8) and Kaylane (10), and attacking midfielder Giovanna Waksman (11), had really fluid rotations in their 1-4-2-3-1 system with the skilful and technical Waksman also combining well with centre-forward Juju (9). She was a real focal point of their attacking successes.

Out of possession
When they did not have the ball, Brazil pressed high in a 1-4-4-2 and were most comfortable defensively in this phase. When the side dropped lower into blocks, they were less effective.

In possession
In possession, Zambia play fast and with high intensity, particularly when their forward players are on the ball. They try to build their play from the back, but the pace of Mercy Chipasula (9) means she can create something from nothing. They have a good work ethic and are constantly making runs to try to penetrate the space in behind opposing defensive lines.

Out of possession
When Zambia do not have the ball, they press high in a player-orientated method, but they also tend to drop off into a 1-4-1-4-1 block when they cannot get early or high pressure on the ball.