Nigeria’s golden girl, Asisat Oshoala, has won the Golden Ball award as the best player of the 2014 Fifa U20 World Cup and Golden Boot having scored seven goals and provided two assists.
France midfielder Griedge Mbock-Bathy was awarded the Silver Ball while her compatriot Claire Lavogez, the Bronze Ball winner.
Paulina Bremer of Germany scooped the Silver Boot with five goals and five assists to her credit. Another German Sara Daebritz scored five goals with two assists to win the Bronze Boot.
German goalkeeper Meike Kamper won the Golden Glove award as Canada took the Fair Play award.
The German players deserved their prizes as Lena Petermann scored in the eighth minute of extra time to lead her country to a 1-0 victory over Nigeria to claim the under-20 Women’s World Cup at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium on Sunday. The game finished tied 0-0 after 90 minutes.
The victory is Germany’s third at this competition, after winning the event in 2004 and 2010.
The Super Falconets of Nigeria looked to have won the match in the 85th minute of regular time when Oshoala headed the ball across the line, but the play was called dead for offside.
Nigeria was the better team for much of the game, as the Falconets pinned the Germans in their own half for lengthy periods of time. Nigeria’s shots were dangerous, and its crosses constantly threatened the German defence.
But it was Petermann who broke the deadlock in extra time, firing home from close range past goalkeeper Sandra Chiichii for her third goal of the competition.
The loss was Nigeria’s second in the final of the U-20 tournament, after losing 2-0 to Germany in 2010.
Nigeria came closest to opening the score in the first half. Oshoala had a glorious chance in the 22nd minute when she stole the ball from German defender Margarita Gidion, walked in on a breakaway, and sidestepped goalie Meike Kaemper before finding the side netting.
The tournament’s leading scorer Oshoala, by far the game’s best player, was denied another promising opportunity in the 38th when her teammate Loveth Ayila walked into her shot, deflecting it wide.
Earlier in the day, France beat North Korea 3-2 in the third-place match. France’s centre half Aissatou Tounkara scored the winner in the 79th minute to lead the Bleuettes to their first podium finish at the U-20 Women’s World Cup.
