Team Canada has reached the quarterfinals of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Lodz, Poland. In the round of 16 on Thursday, Canada defeated France 3-1 thanks to a hat trick by Kaylee Hunter of Calgary, Alberta. Hunter, who plays for AFC Toronto, scored goals in the 28th, 33rd and 70th minutes.
Hunter is now third in the entire tournament when it comes to goal scoring with four goals. She is only behind Argentina’s Annika Paz and North Korea’s Yon-a Choe, who have five goals each.
This was the sixth hat trick of the 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. On September 7, Jiaxin Huang of China scored three times in a 5-0 China win over New Caledonia. On September 8 in Group A action, Paz had four goals for Argentina in a dominant 8-0 win over Benin. On September 10, Celia Segura had four goals in an 11-0 Spain win over New Caledonia. Then on September 11, Zuzanna Grzywinska had three goals for Poland in a 4-1 win over Benin. Finally on September 12, Kennedy Fuller of the United States scored three times in a 9-0 win over New Zealand.
Canada will next play North Korea in the quarterfinals in Lodz on Sunday. The other three quarterfinals will have Brazil versus Spain, South Korea versus Italy and Nigeria versus Colombia. North Korea are the defending champions.
