Korea DPR and Spain to vie for historic third title

Both Korea DPR and Spain take to the pitch with two U-17 Women’s World Cup titles to their name, after USA face England to settle third.

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – OCTOBER 31: Pau Comendador of Spain celebrates with teammates after scoring the team’s second goal during FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Dominican Republic 2024 Semifinal match between Spain and England at Felix Sanchez Stadium on October 31, 2024 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (Photo by Buda Mendes – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
The U-17 Women’s World Cup winner will be crowned on Sunday evening in Santo Domingo
Korea DPR edged past USA to reach the final
Spain enter the final in free-scoring form
Sunday 3 November brings Korea DPR and Spain together to compete in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Dominican Republic 2024™ final. Early goal gluts from Korea DPR turned into determined, hard-fought and defensively imperious 1-0 wins in the knockout rounds, as they prepare to take on a Spain side whose 18 goals in five games helped them cruise to a third successive U-17 Women’s World Cup final.

The Final: Korea DPR v Spain
Felix Sanchez Stadium 18:00: Santo Domingo 07:00 (Monday): Pyongyang 23:00: Madrid

The match
Dominant from minute one, Korea DPR and Spain have barely played a note out of tune during their respective journeys to the final, displaying thrilling attacking football and not conceding a goal in either the quarter or semi-final, making this a tantalising top level clash to close the tournament.

Ro Un-hyang’s wicked strike fired Korea DPR past USA in their fiercely contested semi-final. A repeat of this kind of magic would be welcomed by their fans on Sunday, while their tireless pressing that has suffocated opponents so far will look to nullify Spain’s flair and creativity.

Spain were impressively matched for the first 45 minutes of their semi, before Alba Cerrato’s breakthrough on the stroke of half-time deflated English resilience. Eventual 3-0 victors, Spain have scored goals for fun all competition, but their toughest defensive opponents yet stand between them and an unprecedented third straight title.

Highlights
Group Stage: Korea DPR 4-1 Mexico Korea DPR 3-0 Kenya England 0-4 Korea DPR

Quarter-final: Korea DPR 1-0 Poland

Group Stage: Spain 3-1 USA Spain 5-0 Korea Republic Colombia 1-2 Spain

Quarter-final: Spain 5-0 Ecuador

Key stats
Korea DPR have only failed to score in three of their previous 36 U-17 Women’s World Cup matches
Spain’s 18 goals scored at the 2024 finals is already their highest tally at a single edition of the competition
Korea DPR and Spain are the only teams to win this tournament twice, and are also the only teams to reach four finals – though they have never met at this stage

From the archive: The last time these two teams met in this competition, Spain defeated Korea DPR on penalties in the 2018 quarter-final

Players to watch
With the second highest scorer at the tournament, Choe Rim-jong (4 goals, 2 assists), and the adidas Golden Ball winner of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, Colombia 2024™, Choe Il-son (2 goals at Dominican Republic 2024), Korea DPR have the necessary tools to trouble Spain. However, their main strength may lie in midfield, where the remarkable So Ryu-gyong and Ro Un-hyang have been relentless.

Spain will look to utilise their wonderful attacking front line to threaten Korea DPR. Pau Comendador, the tournament’s current top scorer with 5 goals, will be the main threat alongside Celia Segura (3 goals, 2 assists) and Alba Cerrato (2 goals). However, danger could also come from the right wing, where Martina Gonzalez has impressed since the start of the competition.

What they said
“I look forward to showing an even better performance [than defeating USA] in the final.” So Ryu-gyong, Korea DPR midfielder

“We have a saying that goes, ‘you don’t play the finals, you win them’. We’ll do everything we can to make it happen.” Alba Cerrato, Spain striker

“We’re hoping to play well in our next game.” Song Sung-gwon, Korea DPR manager

“When you reach the finals, it’s normal to face the best teams. So, we’re going for it, as we talked about with the girls, we’re going for the last dance of the World Cup, and hopefully, hopefully, it will be the best dance.” Kenio Gonzalo, Spain manager.

Third place play-off: USA v England
Felix Sanchez Stadium 14:30: Santo Domingo 13:30: Washington, DC 18:30: London

Before the final, the matter of third place at Dominican Republic 2024 will be settled. USA were narrowly defeated by Korea DPR in the semi-final, and are hoping to finish in the top three of this tournament for the first time since they were runners-up at its inaugural edition in 2008. England, meanwhile, are aiming to better their highest finish of fourth – also in 2008 – by putting their defeat to Spain behind them and end on a high.