The women’s final will oppose Shanghai University of Sport to Laval University

The Chinese and the Canadians both won their semi-final games with a score of 2-0, respectively against Beijing Normal University (CHN) and the University of the Extreme South of Santa Caterina (BRA).

25 September was sunny and warm, a perfect setting for the 9th day of the Dalian 2025 FISU University World Cup Football.

After the 5th-6th ranking game saw University of Valencia (ESP) beat the University of Sydney (AUS) on penalty shootouts, the semi-final opposing two Chinese universities took place in front of 500 spectators. The first half was tight, as neither Shanghai University of Sport nor Beijing Normal University managed to score.

But right after the break, Shanghai’s number 15, Siqian Wang scored at the 47th minute. Her teammate Lihong YIN (number 25) scored their second goal at the 65th minute, putting her team safely in the lead until the end of the match.

“We faced Beijing Normal University back in the qualifying matches”, said Shuixin Zhong, Shanghai University of Sport0s number 2. “We initially expected to meet them in the finals, but we ended up facing them in the semi-finals instead. It was a tough match, but we executed the coach’s game plan and secured the win, making all of the coach’s dedication and our teammates’ hard work pay off.”

Tight until the very end

The other semi-final was extremely disputed and the first goal took a very long time to arrive, with both teams managing to counter the other’s attacks.

Laval University’s number 14, Elsa Lessard found the net at the 84th minute, placing Canada ahead. The Brazilians from the University of the Extreme South of Santa Caterina kept fighting, but conceded a penalty at the 90th minute, which was transformed by Meredith St-Pierre (number 13).

“We are so happy to have fulfilled out mission to qualify for the final!” said Laval University’s number 25, Geneviève Girard. “This semi-final was a tough one as we are not used to play against the South American style of football. But we managed to keep a cold head and stay in our game, so that’s great!”

Some shots of the two women's semi-finals

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But before Saturday’s women’s finals, a full day of men’s university football awaits you on Friday 26 September, with ranking matches but more importantly the two semi-finals programmed at 18h.

You can find the official schedule (CET + 6) as well as the results on the event’s official website and follow the matches live on FISU.tv (which is temporarily on YouTube).