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The biggest age grade competition for Women is currently underway in Costa Rica and we have been saddled with lots of excitement and surprises so far. The Tournament is about entering its Quarter Final Stage later today with all the matches set. When you look at the caliber of nations that qualified for the 16 team Tournament, those who made the final eight is bound to spring a surprise.

Coming as a bit of a surprise, the two most successful teams in Women's football History, the U.S.A and Germany, did not make the final cut. They aren't only the most successful teams at the Senior stage, but at any stage of competition. This is a real surprise but seems like a continuation from the last tournament (2018) where neither of them made the final four.

Although success at age grade competitions doesn't always correlate to the Senior level, what it does is signal is the diversity of talent in other countries that can be nurtured and perhaps change the status quo. We saw Canada winning their first Olympic Title which came as a bit of a surprise, and signaled that other teams are trying to catch up with U.S dominance.

Some Observations

My first observation watching some of the highlights has been the quality of play which I would say has been quite high, showing obvious improvement in the overall quality of the Women's game. The average attendance is just above 4000 people which isn't spectacular but understandable considering the location (Costa Rica) and relatively low publicity. It is certainly an improvement over the average attendance from the last tournament.

As stated earlier, age grade success doesn't necessarily translate to success at both the individual and team level. For the former, we have seen some notable female players who got discovered from these age grade competitions and have become prominent at the senior level. Many of the best female players in the World today passed through age grade ranks as a matter of fact. But perhaps people like Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria would not have been discovered but for her exploits at the 2014 u20 Women's World Cup.

Who Wins?

Going back to the tournament, the final eight teams are: Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Nigeria, Netherlands, Japan and France. Of Course some recognized powerhouse names such as Japan France and the Netherlands. As a matter of fact, most teams on this list aren't slouches at the senior stage, with Japan the only team (and one of only four different teams) to have won the Women's World cup Title at Senior level.

Age grade competitions are a different game though, so predicting the winner will be difficult. Going by group stage performances, Nigeria and Japan were dominant in qualification, while both Spain and Brazil proved inseparable during their group stage. It is honestly anyone's guess who makes the final four, which makes it all the more exciting to watch. I won't be taking a wide guess on who wins, but it will be nice to see underdogs do well in the tournament.