It wasn’t exactly the treat the fans had come to expect from Brazil, but it was a satisfying evening nonetheless as the crowd-favourite beat Niger 2-0 in the final FIFA U-17 World Cup Group D encounter at the Fatorda Stadium here on Friday.
Following three wins out of three, Brazil topped the group. With DPR Korea losing to Spain in the other match, Niger finished third and will thus qualify as one of the four best third-placed teams, for two of six the groups — Group B and C — will have no representatives.
For Brazil, it didn’t take long for the deadly duo of Paulinho and Lincoln to combine. As early as the fifth minute, Paulinho sent a perfectly-weighted ball from the right flank for Lincoln to finish at the far post. Within moments the Flamengo No. 9 could have doubled the lead but his towering header crashed against the bar.
Niger chose to man mark but its players were often left gasping by the sheer speed of the Brazilians. So impeccable was the Selecao’s close control that almost all the challenges Niger was drawn into were futile. It seemed as if a goal would come from every attacking move. It was then odd that the second was from a deflected freekick by Brenner.
Yet, when Niger had the ball it wasn’t as bad as it was made to look in the initial exchanges. It made more than one foray into the opposition half. But anxiety cost its players. Kairou Amoustapha couldn’t put the ball into an open net in the first half and it took nearly an hour for the African side to register the first shot on goal. It gradually grew in confidence and dispossessed the Brazilian defenders more than a few times. Habibou Sofiane and Yacine Massamba drew excellent saves from goalkeeper Gabriel Brazao too. But scoring three past Brazil was always a task beyond it.
Easy for Iran
Earlier, Iran did not let the burden of expectations affect it one bit as it beat Costa Rica 3-0 to emerge Group C topper. The Los Ticos , with just one point from three games, finished fourth.
Against Iran, right from the outset, victory seemed a step too far. Physically, the Central Americans were no match.
Costa Rica added to its trouble by conceding two penalties in a gap of five minutes even before the half-hour mark. Alfaro Rodolfo, the creative lynch-pin, was benched to provide more defensive cover to tackle Iran’s counter-attacks. Neither that decision nor Rodolfo’s introduction at the interval had any effect as Iran romped home.
The results: Group C: Iran 3 (Ghobeishavi 25, Shariati 29, Sardari 89) bt Costa Rica 0; Group D: Brazil 2 (Lincoln 4, Brenner 34) bt Niger 0.
