The USA captured first place in Group D at the 2006 U-20 Women’s World Championship with a 1-0 win over France Thursday at Moscow’s Dynamo Stadium.

Virginia forward Jessica Rostedt scored the game-winner with a dipping shot from 20 yards in the 61st minute to move the Americans into the quarterfinals. They face  Group C second-place finisher Germany, the 2004 U-19 world champion, on Sunday at Petrovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg. The USA-Germany clash is a rematch of the 2004 U-19s semifinals that Germany won, 3-1, in Thailand.

UCLA’s Val Henderson, the third player to start in the U.S. goal in three games, came up big with key saves on Bleuettes Elodie Thomis, Sabrina Belannoy and Amandine Henry.

USA-FRANCE GAME SUMMARY

QUARTERFINALS:
Aug. 26 in Moscow
BRAZIL-NIGERIA

  • Renata Costa is playing in her fourth world championship for Brazil.
  • The Falconets advanced with an 8-0 win over Finland (after putting 33 shots on goal).

    • RUSSIA-CHINA

  • Elena Danilova, the hosts’ best player, was discovered at 11 running track.
  • China knocked out Canada with a 1-0 win on Ma Xiaoxu‘s fourth goal of the tournament.

    • Aug. 27 in St. Petersburg
    NORTH KOREA-FRANCE

  • The surprise Koreans won all three group games, by a margin of 10-0.
  • French star Louisa Necib is nicknamed “ZZ” after Zinedine Zidane, like her raised in Marseilles to Algerian parents.


    • USA-GERMANY

  • U.S. striker Lauren Cheney is back after missing the first two games with an abdominal strain.
  • Celia Okoyuno da Mbabi, born to a Cameroonian father and French mother, starred on Germany’s ’04 U-19 team.