The Digicel Fiji Young Kulas faced a tough challenge in their second match at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia, suffering a 0-9 defeat against Canada.
The damage was primarily done in the first half, with Canadian forward Annabelle Chukwu netting the first hat-trick of the tournament as the North American side put seven goals past Fiji.
Despite the relentless pressure in the second half, the Young Kulas showed admirable resilience, managing to create a few chances through counterattacks. Canada continued to push for more goals, but 15-year-old Fijian goalkeeper Aliana Vakaloloma, who had already impressed against Brazil, made several outstanding saves to limit the damage.
Fiji midfielder Talei Moodie acknowledged the challenges of competing at this level but saw the experience as a valuable learning opportunity.
“This is our first appearance here, so it was likely we were going to get challenged in this way and face things we hadn’t faced before, but it’s a really good learning experience, and I believe it’s going to give us motivation,” said Moodie.
Head coach Angelina Chua praised her team’s “courageous” second-half effort and expressed hope for improvement in their final match against France on Saturday.
“We regroup, we want to improve always from the last game,” Chua said. “We play football to score goals, so that will still remain our objective.”
