Several participants in the U-17 Women’s World Cup in India next month ooze talent and could make an impact in the tournament. Here are five players to watch out for.
Lynda Kom Serto, India
India’s most promising striker in the World Cup, Lynda led the attack for the young Tigresses as they won the SAFF U-18 Championship in Jamshedpur in March this year. With five goals — including a hat-trick against Nepal — Lynda won the Golden Boot award as well.
Lynda made her India debut five years ago in the U-15 SAFF Championship, scored four goals. She also played the U-16 AFC Championship qualifiers.
In the Women’s U-17 Championship in 2019, Lynda won the Golden Boot award for scoring six goals in four matches.
Clara Luvanga (Tanzania)
Clara Luvanga of Tanzania, with 10 goals, was the top goalscorer of the 2022 African U-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). She scored hat-tricks in two qualifiers against Botswana and Cameroon. Tanzania is in Group D along with challenging teams like Japan, Canada and France.
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Rosa Maalouf (Canada)
Canada’s Rosa Malouf finished as the top scorer with 12 goals in the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship where the top three teams — USA, Mexico and Canada — qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India. Maalouf scored hat-tricks against the Dominican Republic and Honduras and played a crucial part in Canada’s qualification for the U-17 Women’s World Cup in India.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with ‘Ibha’, mascot of FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022, at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. | Photo Credit: PTI
Jhonson (Brazil)
Ingrid Aparecida Borges de Moraes, better known as Jhonson, of Brazil, was the leading goalscorer of the CONMEBOL U-17 Women’s Championship that was held earlier this year in Montevideo, Uruguay.
She helped her side to a fourth title with nine goals and formed a devastating partnership up front with Aline Gomes. Brazil won the tournament with 33 goals scored and zero goals conceded. The forward plays her club football with Toledo, in Parana, and went into the tournament having signed a contract until 2026.
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Jhonson will spearhead the attack for Brazil, one of the favourites for the World Cup, in Group A, alongside India, the USA and Morocco.
Carla Camacho (Spain)
Despite losing the U-17 Women’s Euro final on penalties, Spain had plenty of positives to garner from the tournament. One such bright side was the emergence of Carla Camacho.
Camacho was the joint top-scorer in the tournament with three goals and also scored in the final with an inventive looping header.
The forward is a member of Real Madrid’s senior team. She made 22 appearances for the team in the last season, scoring four goals. Spain, the defending champion in the U-17 World Cup, will be expecting Camacho to shine in India to help it become the first side to defend the U-17 title.
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