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In the early morning of October 30th, Beijing time, in the 1/8 finals of the 2026 U17 Women’s World Cup in Rabat, Morocco, the 2009-age Chinese U17 women’s football team defeated the French team 4-3 after a penalty shootout with goalkeeper Niu Ziqi’s two key saves, making a historic entry into the quarterfinals of the tournament. Niu Ziqi smiled calmly before the penalty shootout, and burst into tears after making the crucial save, which became the most touching scene in this historic victory.

As one of the favorites to win this World Cup, the dominant French U17 women’s football team took control of the game for most of the game, continued to launch high-pressure attacks on the Chinese team’s defense, and created excellent scoring opportunities many times. Facing the opponent’s fierce attack, Niu Ziqi became the anchor of the Chinese team’s defense. In the first half of the game, the French team scored a goal with a close-range shot. Niu Ziqi relied on her extreme concentration and excellent reaction in front of the goal to block the ball and successfully averted the danger. Throughout the game, she made several key saves and dragged the game into a penalty shootout, keeping the team’s hope of advancement.

During the penalty shootout, Niu Ziqi was not nervous at all while standing in front of the goal line. She looked relaxed and smiled. Her calm and calm state not only stabilized the morale of the team, but also put psychological pressure on the opponent’s free throw shooters. Niu Ziqi made a contribution in the first round of penalty kicks. She flew and saved the French team’s first penalty kick, giving her team the advantage. At the decisive moment, the last penalty kick of the French U17 women’s football team was successfully blocked by Niu Ziqi again. At this moment, the pressure of the whole audience was completely released. Niu Ziqi, who had been extremely calm and determined in front of the goal line just now, could no longer suppress his inner emotions, and tears burst out of his eyes. The emotions of excitement, joy and relief were intertwined, and her tears witnessed the hard work and perseverance of the whole team. She also became the biggest contributor to the history of the Chinese U17 women’s football team.

This young player from Shandong is the number one goalkeeper of the U17 women’s football team. He has followed the team from the Asian competition to the World Cup in Morocco. The coaching team led by former Asian Football Miss Ma Xiaoxu has always given Niu Ziqi full trust. In the team, Niu Ziqi is not only a goalkeeper who focuses on fighting, but her ability to play the ball at her feet and launch attacks through long passes is also an important part of the team’s tactical system. In the tough battle against the U.S. U17 women’s football team in the group stage, it was her precise long pass from the backcourt that directly instigated the team’s first goal, which showed the characteristics of this young goalkeeper. During the training camp of the competition, the goalkeeper team has a lot of training. In addition to daily fighting and reaction training, Niu Ziqi often takes the initiative to stay and practice penalty kick prediction, repeatedly watching videos of different styles of penalty kickers, and polishing her position selection and saving abilities.