Eighteen years ago, FIFA launched its third women's football tournament to great fanfare. Seventeen years after the senior World Cup was first staged, and only six years after the U-20 event, it was the turn of the U-17s to have their own global event, as 16 national teams took a step into the unknown.
For that inaugural edition, the task of hosting went to New Zealand, a nation which had organised the men's tournament in 1999. The idea was to better prepare emerging talents for future international competitions. “Having the chance to play at a world level when you're young is valuable and important,” Japan midfielder Mana Iwabuchi told FIFA years later.
Of the 16 teams on the starting line in New Zealand, one in particular was the focus of considerable attention: Germany, the reigning U-17 European champions. With their senior team having won the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in 2003 and 2007, and the U-20s having done likewise in 2004, Die Nationalelf arrived as strong favourites. Word spread that among the German ranks were several stars-in-the-making, and it did not take long for two of them to confirm their pre-tournament billing and announce themselves in style to the watching world.
Alexandra Popp showed immense promise in New Zealand, while her team-mate, Dzsenifer Marozsan, proved so lethal in front of goal that she left Oceania as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals. However, neither Marozsan, nor her illustrious team-mate, ended up with a world title in 2008 or took home the adidas Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.
Rather than the highly-fancied Germans it was an impressive Korea DPR team that emerged on top. In the mid-to-late 2000s, the country seemed to produce an endless supply of talented young players around whom the national teams built their success. While the Korea DPR seniors reached the quarter-finals at the 2007 Women's World Cup, their U-20 counterparts claimed the 2006 title in Russia.
The country’s dominance at the time in women's youth football, where they remain a force today, was epitomised by Jon Myong-hwa, who won the adidas Bronze Shoe at New Zealand 2008. More importantly, though, Korea DPR were bolstered by a group with a strong focus on the collective.
Kristie Mewis and Taylor Vancil led a USA team that had eliminated favourites Germany in the semi-finals but in the decider they were unable to deny a valiant and patient Korea DPR side that won 2-1 in extra time.
As fate would have it, USA and Korea DPR met again a few weeks later in the final of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ in Chile, foreshadowing their dominance in women's youth football. On that occasion, however, it was the Stars and Stripes who prevailed 2-1, with Germany once more having to settle for bronze.
New Zealand 2008 was also the first experience on the world stage for a host of players who have risen to the very top of the game. In addition to Popp, Mewis and Marozsan, the tournament witnessed the emergence of Iwabuchi.
The Japanese icon, now retired, made such an impact that she was awarded the adidas Golden Ball as the tournament's standout performer, even though her side crashed out on penalties in the quarter-finals against England.
The former Bayern Munich star, who won the senior World Cup three years later, has fond memories of New Zealand 2008, . "One of our team concepts with the Japan U-17 women’s team was to enjoy the game and play freely, so I really enjoyed the tournament. The opponents we played against also put a focus on individual skills and play, rather than attack or defence as a team."
The 2008 tournament was also significant for the Football Ferns. Fifteen years before the nation would co-host the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ with Australia, New Zealand saw the emergence of an enduring national star in Rosie White. The forward, who now has more than 100 caps to her name, made headlines by netting the first hat-trick in U-17 Women’s World Cup history with a treble in the 3-1 win over Colombia in Wellington.
"To this day, it's still one of my favourite memories," White told FIFA. "I didn't realise how important it would be to have this World Cup in New Zealand, and to be involved as a 15-year-old. It immersed me in international football in an incredible way."
New Zealand 2008 also saw Denmark's Simone Boye and Pernille Harder make their entry on the world stage, along with two-time world champion Morgan Brian of the USA, Rafaelle Souza, who captained Brazil in 2023, and one of the biggest names in English women’s football, Lucy Bronze.
Sources: FIFA Official
