Kolkata: England take on Brazil in the first semi-final of the U-17 World Cup at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Wednesday. The match initially scheduled to be held in Guwahati was later shifted to Kolkata, following persistent rain in the north-eastern region deeming the pitch ineligible to host a match. However, despite the emergency shift, the flair remains and the stadium is expected to be full as Kolkata gets a ‘puja bonus’ in the form of a blockbuster clash.
The England boys have already created history when they became the first English team to reach the semi-finals in the U-17 World Cup and are just two steps away from final glory. The team although looked pale in the pre-quarters against Japan, missing main man Jadon Sancho but bounced back in the 4-1 win against USA sending a warning, that they cannot be written off.
“A semi-final against Brazil at such a magnificent stadium is without doubt, the biggest game for all of us. Everyone’s excited and we have nothing to fear,” said coach Steve Cooper adding that his team has played most of it’s matches in the football frenzy city. Different players have rose in different situations with Rhian Brewster being the latest one.
Brazil coach Carlos Amadeu however refused to call it as an advantage aware of the city’s heart wrenching love for Samba magic. Unbeaten in the tournament, the Selecao are yet to concede a goal from open play and has shipped only two goals from set-pieces in the entire tournament. Paulinho has been a star and so has been Lincoln and Alan Souza. England on the other hand have shipped only three goals and Amadeu was quick to acknowledge it, “This match is totally in the balance.”
Both the teams have met just twice in the history of the U-17 World Cup with England coming on top in 2007 and Brazil avenging the loss in 2015. But on Wednesday past won’t matter with the World Cup final at stake for both.
Spain vs Mali
It will be a battle of attacking against possession football when Spain take on Mali in the second semi-final of the World Cup at the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday. Both the teams lost their opening matches but have gone un-beaten since then.
Mali has so far scored 15 goals in their route to successive semi-finals in consecutive World Cups. Striker Lassana N’Diaye leads the charts with five goals to his name and is tied with France international Amine Gouiri. ‘The Eagles’ despite all the heroics in attacks have however let in six goals, including two from penalties. Coach Jonas Komla however aims in keeping the same philosophy when they take on Spain. “Our philosophy is to play the game and win matches. Even our loss to Paraguay didn’t change anything. We are on track with our objective,” he said.
Spain on the other hand has struggled against teams that attack with more men in front, as evident against Brazil and France. Although they did beat Iran convincingly, coach Santiago Denia did not sound confident, instead spoke of improving the defence. “We have to get better in defence and offence. We know that we are playing against a very physical team. We know that we cannot play a counter-attack game against them,” he said ahead of the match against Mali.
Captain and striker Abel Ruiz who has already scored four goals will once again be the main man for La Roja, while wingers Ferran Torres and Sergio Gomez are also the players to watch to watch out for.
Live from Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium, Kolkata – 5:00 p.m. IST
Live from DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai – 8:00 p.m. IST