Fifa U-17 World Cup: England up against Samba magic

Kolkata: Three-time champions Brazil will bank on their free-flowing brand of football against formidable England in the first Under-17 World Cup semi-final here on Wednesday. The match was shifted here from Guwahati at the last minute due to poor pitch conditions at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium.

It may help Brazil as they enjoyed unabashed support at the packed Yuba Bharati Krirangan in their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Germany on Sunday and will expect another full house to motivate them against the Young Lions.

Focus will be on their playmakers Paulinho, full of confidence after scoring the match-winner against Germany, and Alan. Full back Weverson also impressed after coming on as a second half substitute against Germany, slotting in the equaliser after Brazil trailed by a goal for 70 minutes.

The last-minute venue shift, however, inconvenienced players of both teams as they had reached Guwahati and were forced to return to Kolkata hours later. England played their three group matches and pre-quarterfinal in Kolkata before moving to Margao for the quarters.

Brazil began their campaign with a 2-1 win over Spain. The Germans dominated them for a better part of the quarter-final but Brazil turned it around in a six-minute spell through two superb strikes from Weverson and Paulinho to remain on course for their first title since 2003.

Besides Paulinho and Alan, forwards Lincoln and Brenner are also in form. Brazil coach Carlos Amadeu will hope to fix his team’s defensive and midfield problems after they were exposed by Germany.

The Europeans overran Marcos Antonio in the midfield but improved his performance significantly in the second session. Brazil have conceded two goals so far. They fell behind through a penalty in their quarter-final and could have conceded more had the Germans been more clinical infront of the goal.

Goalkeeper Gabriel Brazao and the defenders will be tested by England, who have scored 15 goals in five matches so far. England are full of confidence after beating USA 4-1 in the quarters. They won all three group matches but were tested by a plucky Japan in the pre-quarters.

The absence of their club-bound star striker Jadon Sancho against Japan was evident as they failed to score in regulation time against Japan, winning it on penalties. Sancho left for his Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund after the group stages. Liverpool youth team player Rhian Brewster has been in form and will be raring to go after his hat-trick against USA.

Manchester City’s Phil Foden has also distinguished himself with his fluid movement on the right flank along with left winger Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi. Brewster is a goal behind the trio of Jann- Fiete Arp of Germany, Mali’s Lassana N’Diaye and France’s Amine Gouiri, who have five goals each in the scorers’ chart. England have also conceded three goals and coach Steve Cooper will demand a clean sheet from his team on Wednesday.