U-17 World cup: Brazil’s skills up against Mali’s pace
Kolkata, Oct 27 (IANS) Pride and consolation would be at stake in a clash of Latin American skill and African speed and raw power as Brazil take on Mali in the third place play-off of the Under-17 FIFA World Cup here on Saturday.
The match at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan promises to be high on entertainment with two of the most attacking sides of the tournament coming face to face, albeit after crashing out of the title race.
But while Brazil would strive to salvage some pride after the English disaster, a victory would come as a consolation for Mali’s spectacualar display over the past three weeks.
The free-flowing game that the two losing semi-finalists have dished out so far is likely to fill the hearts of the fans with hope for an encore, providing the perfect build up for the summit duel between England and Spain at the same venue later in the evening.
Brazil’s rich football history, inclusive of three crowns in this age-group World Cup, is all too well-known. But Mali also are no nine day wonders at this level,
During three previous appearances, the West African nation came up with their best performance in 2015, finishing runners up to champions Nigeria.
In the current edition, they started with a loss to Paraguay, but then raised their game to outsmart Turkey and New Zealand in the group games, before crushing Iraq 5-1 in the round of 16 and pipping Ghana 2-1 in the quarters. However, Mali’s bid to play back to back finals ended in a 1-3 defeat to European powerhouse Spain in the semi-final.
South American giants Brazil in contrast, won all their group fixtures, beginning with a 2-1 morale-boosting triumph over Spain. The Samba magicians blanked Honduras 3-0 in the pre-quarters and rallied back after being a goal down to show Germany the door (2-1) in the quarter-final. But their party ended on Wednesday with a 1-3 loss to England in a last four battle.
Brazil’s game — centred around neat passing and beautiful build-ups, culminating in penetrating attacks — is heavily dependent on the success of upfronters Paulinho and Lincoln and playmaker Alan, with the two wing backs Wesley and Weverson moving up constantly to keep the supply line going.
However, the jogo bonito (beautiful game) had hit a wall against England, who policed to submission Paulinho, Lincoln and Alan and took control of the midfield.
This curbed the Brazilians’ natural flair, but they still had their chances, and coach Carlos Amadeu was left ruing the missed opportunities.
“We had our opportunities in the first half. We played a good game but we could not score all goals today. That was our problem,” said coach Amadeu after the match.
Amadeu would be hoping for better finishing from his charges, but has to be wary about the strongly built African side’s hard tackles and quick-silver moves.
Under coach Jonas Komla, Mali have impressed with their lightning raids, and ability to switch into the attack mode from a defensive position with two or three touches.
Statistically, they are the best attacking side with 157 attempts at the opponents’ goal, and Brazilian shotstopper Gabriel Brazao, who heads the list of top saves (19), could have his hands full.
Mali’s lethal striker Lassana Ndiaye is in contention for the golden boot with six goals, the same as Spaniard Abel Ruiz and one less than the leader Englishman Rhian Brewster.
The Brazilian defenders also have to keep an eye on Hadji Drame for his scoring prowess, while attacking midfielder Djemoussa Traore will be crucial to Komla’s scheme of things.
Another heartening development for the Africans is the return of their central midfielder Mohamad Camara, who had to sit out the Spain match due to double booking.
Komla sounded positive.
“We started with 24 teams and now we are among the best four in the world. So it doesn’t disappoint us much. We’ll try our best to claim the number three spot from Brazil,” he said.
Head-to-head, the two sides have met only once in the tourney, but the group match finished goalless. That was way back in 1999, and one of the teams have to be victors in Saturday’s tie.
Squads:
Mali: Alkalifa Coulibaly, Boubacar Haidara, Djemoussa Traore, Fode Konate, Mamadi Fofana, Mohamed Camara, Hadji Drame, Abdoulaye Dabo, Seme Camara, Salam Giddou, Mamadou Traore, Mahamane Toure, Soumaila Doumbia, Siaka Sidibe, Abdoulaye Diaby, Youssouf Koita, Mamadou Samake, Ibrahim Kane, Lassana N’Diaye, Cheick Oumar Doucoure and Massire Gassama.
Brazil: Gabriel Brazao, Lucas Alexandre, Yuri Sena; Wesley, Luan Candido, Weverson, Lucas Halter, Matheus Stockl, Rodrigo Guth and Vitor Eduardo; Alanzinho, Marcos Antonio, Rodrigo Nestor, Victor Bobsin, Victor Yan and Vitinho; Brenner, Lincoln, Paulinho and Yuri Alberto.
U-17 WC: Spain, England eye maiden title
Kolkata, Oct 27 (IANS) England and Spain will have their eyes firmly trained on the history books waiting to christen them as first-time champions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup when the two footballing hotshots renew acquaintances in the hotly-anticipated final here on Saturday.
In the first all-European final of this competition, England, who have never gone beyond the quarter-finals and are looking to emulate the U-20 boys, will have revenge on their minds while European champions Spain — runners up thrice — aim to brighten their trophy cabinet with a World Cup crown.
It was only in May this year that Spain colts, known as La Rojita, pipped England 4-1 on penalties to bag the UEFA U-17 European Championships in Croatia.
That was the third meeting of the two teams in the final of the European Championships with Spain triumphant in 2007, and the Young Lions exacting revenge three years later.
The Spaniards once more emerged victorious in May, but only after a nail-biting climax. England went ahead twice and frittered their advantage, with Spain’s second equaliser coming in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Spain went on to win on penalties.
Cut to India, where England have been perfect leading up to the summit clash, with Spain peaking at the right time, it promises to be a lip-smacking affair at the colossal Vivekananda Yuba Krirangan, expected to be packed to the rafters.
It has been a landmark year for England so far, who since the Booby Moore led team’s World Cup win in 1966, had failed to achieve any sort of success at the international level .
The jinx was broken in June, when the U-20 side lifted the World Cup beating Venezuela in the final.
The U-19 team picked up from there, bagging the UEFA European U-19 Championship crown a month later.
With Steve Cooper’s side registering a clinical 3-1 victory over three-time champions Brazil in the semi-final here, they became the fourth England youth team to reach a final in the calendar year.
Since the 4-0 bossing of Chile in the u-17 tournament opener, England have made it clear who the trailblazers would be.
Mexico threatened to rein them in with a quickfire second-half blitz from Diego Lainez while Japan frustrated them even further, dragging the round of 16 game to England’s most dreaded penalties. On both occasions, the boys in white showed composure which Cooper feels belies their age. Iraq were also dealt with 4-0.
They were head and shoulders above the US in the quarter-final in Goa — the only game they played out of Kolkata — and dictated a flair-filled Brazil. England are the only team in the tourney to have won all their games leading up to the final.
In Spain though, they face their sternest test yet.
Santiago Denia’s boys have gone from strength to strength in the tournament and look unrecognisable from the team that lost the first game to Brazil 1-2 in Kochi.
After registering two facile wins over Niger and Korea DPR in Group D to qualify for the knockout stages, Spain underlined their title credentials with a strong 2-1 performance against in-form France.
They bettered their showing against Iran who had defeated Germany 4-0 in the preliminary round and in the semis, sent Mali packing 3-1.
At the heart of their display was skipper Abel Ruiz who led from the front.
Scoring six goals in six games, the FC Barcelona youth striker alongwith Valencia’s Ferran Torres, who plays down the right channel, and Real Madrid’s attacking midfielder Cesar Gelabert form a formidable trio up front for Spain.
England will bank on Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster who is currently the tournament’s leading marksman (7 goals), having scored back-to-back hat-tricks against the US and Brazil.
Manchester City’s Phil Foden has been a live-wire in creating chances while George McEachran has no replacement as a holding midfielder who can also unlock rival defences with his jinking runs down the middle.
In defence, skipper City’s Joel Latibeaudiere has been a rock.
Since the Brazil loss, Spain have not floundered much while it would be hard to put a finger on any chinks in England’s armour. A battle of attrition awaits.
Squads:
England: Curtis Anderson, Josef Bursik, William Crelin; Timothy Eyoma, Joel Latibeaudiere, Marc Guehi, Jonathan Panzo, Lewis Gibson, Steven Sessegnon, Morgan Gibbs White, Tashan Oakley Boothe; Conor Gallagher, Angel Gomes, Nya Kirby, George McEachran; Callum Hudson Odoi, Philip Foden, Emile Smith Rowe, Rhian Brewster, Danny Loader
Spain: Alvaro Fernandez, Mateu Jaume, Juan Miranda, Hugo Guillamon, Victor Chust, Antonio Blanco, Ferran Torres, Mohamed Moukhliss, Abel Ruiz, Sergio Gomez, Nacho Diaz, Pedro Ruiz, Marc Vidal, Alvaro Garcia, Eric Garcia, Diego Pampin, Jose Lara, Cesar Gelabert, Carlos Beitia, Victor Perea, Alfonso Pastor.
U-17 WC: Premier League, La Liga prodigies on show in Saturday’s Spain-England final
Kolkata, Oct 27 (IANS) When England and Spain clash in the FIFA U-17 World Cup final on Saturday, it will be a battle between potential future stars of the English Premier League and Spanish La Liga, the two most watched leagues in India.
From Premier League leaders Manchester City to LA Liga counterparts FC Barcelona, the expected full house at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan will be witness to 17-year olds from these clubs and other top names strutting their stuff on the pitch.
City’s attacking midfielder Phil Foden and Barcelona’s Abel Ruiz, who is also Spain U-17 team’s captain, are prime examples.
Ruiz is Spain’s top scorer with six goals and his double against Mali was the key in securing Spain’s place in the final.
The Barca prodigy is direct in his approach and uses a lot of intelligence to move into scoring areas and also goes behind defences.
As for Foden, City manager Pep Guardiola is his fan for a reason. After breaking out and showcasing his talent for Manchester City on their pre-season tour in America this summer, Foden picked up where he left off for England. He has been the creator-in-chief for the Young Lions playing down the right and is able to use both feet, giving him close control.
Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster is England’s pin-up boy at the moment after netting back-to-back hat-tricks against the US and Brazil in the quarters and semis respectively. The striker seems to be coming of age in this competition with Reds manager Juergen Klopp describing him as “special”.
Real Madrid’s Cesar Gelabert has a vision Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta would love to comment on. One who loves to feed his teammates rather than score himself, Gelabert picked up two assists in the semi-final against Mali and has the wherewithal to uncorkAEngland’s defence which has the rock-like City player Joel Latibeaudiere.
The player hasn’t put a foot wrong in India so far and is calm and assertive on the ball.
He is also athletically gifted and is able to close down and cover space quickly. Good in the air, Spain would have to work hard to get the better of him with crosses into the 18-yard box.
Barcelona’s young left-back Juan Miranda is also one to watch out for with his buccaneering runs down the flanks and crosses into the area.
Valencia’s Ferran Torres, who Real Madrid and Barcelona are reportedly keeping a close eye on, is another future star in the making. Hyped as the new Marco Asensio by the Madrid media, this winger has blinding speed in possession and a sense of ease on the ball.
All in all, it should be a treat for the spectators as well as good study material for the present scouts at the stadium.
