FIFA Under 17 World Cup 2017: Brazil defeat Spain 2-1 in Kochi

FIFA U 17, Brazil Vs Spain: Brazil took on Spain in Group D opener.(Express photo by Kevin D’Souza)

If India taking on USA on the opening day of the FIFA U-17 World Cup got you excited, the second day’s contest that featured Brazil against Spain must have taken that thrill up a notch. To add to the thrill of watching Brazil vs Spain World Cup match, the contest was played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi – a city notorious for its love and passion for football and especially for their support of Brazil and Argentina. Brazil, who beat Spain 2-1, did not need star Vinicius Junior to help them win against formidable Spain in a tricky opener. Other group games on the day saw Germany beat Costa Rica 2-1, Iran beat Guinea 3-1 and Korea DPR fall down 0-1 against Niger. Here are the key highlights from Day 2 of FIFA U-17 World Cup:

FIFA U-17 World Cup:

FULL-TIME! What a way to end the match. With 2-0 lead, Iran was already winning when they decided to rub their victory in the opponents faces with another goal in the 90th minute. Guinea responded with a goal in 90+2 minutes but the show was already over. In the other game, Niger got the better of Korea DPR with Salim scoring the only goal of the game.

70′: GOAL! Iran makes it 2-0 against Guinea with a goal from Mohammad Sharifi. Has Guinea any chance of a comeback left? Doesn’t seem so from the match so far.

59′: Goals! Can there be more similarity in the two FIFA U-17 World Cup matches underway in Kochi and Goa. Minutes after Iran’s Allahyar Sayyad scores from a free-kick against Guinea, Niger finally convert their chances into a goal. Salim Abdourahmane gave Niger the advantage in Kochi. The matches have taken an interesting turn now with the crowds gaining back their interest and energy.

SECOND-HALF: And we are back. Both sides look the get an advantage in Goa but nothing so far except a booking for Kye Tam.

HALF-TIME: Goals – 0. Injuries – multiple. The first half has been goalless for both games in Kochi as well as Goa. But the game has stopped multiple times due to a number of injuries in Goa.

25′: All four teams have remained goalless so far in the first half.  Rachid Alfari of Niger has been replaced by Kader Aboubacar. Too many injuries in the first half in Goa. Looks like the players are finding it difficult to get adjusted to the weather.

1′: Match begins between People’s Republic of Korea and Niger in Goa while Iran fight against Guinea in Kochi. Both stadiums look like they have full attendance, bringing out the football spirit in the country.

91′: FULL-TIME! Both the matches in Kochi and Goa end with the same result – 2-1. While Germany got the better of Costa Rica, Brazil ended the thrilling match in Kochi by defeating a formidable Spain in front of an energetic crowd, who flashed their cameras in unison and performed Mexican waves in the stadium. While Lincoln and Paulinho scored for Brazil after Wesley’s own goal. In the other match, Germany ended the match with a goal by Awuku.

89′: GOAL! Gladly proven wrong. Germany end the match with a goal from Noah Awuku after the opponents fouled.

85′: Meanwhile, Germany vs Costa Rica look like they are heading for a draw with less than five minutes left for the match to end.

72′: Brazil score but the goal has been disallowed because of a foul inside the box. Spain maintain the one-goal deficit by the thick of their skin.

65′: Seconds after that Alan steps on the foot of a Spanish player in the midfield while retrieving the ball and going forward. Referee pulls the game back and Alan is shown a yellow card.

59′: Brazil going for the defensive it seems, replace their defensive midfielder with a central defender. But just after that move, Brazil break and Paulinho comes right in front of goal. A little more space and he would have been in but Spain somehow save themselves.

53′: Sergio Gomez takes a free kick from the right side of the midfield circle. It was a poorly taken one and hardly troubled the Brazilian defence. Spain have started the second half on a more aggressive note and are dominating possession but they are simply unable to get their passes right in the final third.

45′: GOAL! Paulinho makes it 2-1 in favour of Brazil. And that comes right at the stroke of half time. Brazil have been brilliant since they conceded that own goal. Spain have maintained formation and not done too much wrong but even the smallest of lapses have been punished to the full by Brazil. 

41′: U-17 World Cup us not necessarily a reflection of the senior side and this match is proving that. Spain are happy sitting deep and hitting Brazil 0n the counter. Nothing like the possession based football that the senior side is known for

37′: Spanish no. 7 Ferran Torres skippes past the Brazilian full back on the right hand side of the pitch. He then gets past another yellow shirt, gets to his favoured right foot and tries a shot, it doesn’t have the necessary power and the keeper deals with it

 30′: It is in’t too difficult to understand where Kochi’s loyalties lie. There was stunned silence around the stadium when that first goal went in and quite the opposite of that when Lincol equalised. For now,

25′: GOAL! Lincoln equalises for Brazil! Brazil broke on the counter and score against the flow of the game. The balance has been shifting towards the Brazilians since some time now.

17′: Well Spain have taken the lead and it was Wesley’s own goal that gave them that. Brazil have been dominating possession but Spain have remained in control.