Kolkata: Both Germany and Colombia had to overcome big losses to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Now they take on each other in the first knock-out match of the tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Delhi on Monday. While Germany had to beat Guinea after a 0-4 threshing at the hands of Iran, Colombia had to beat both hosts India and USA after losing to Ghana in their opening match of the tournament, in order to seek a berth in the round of 16.
Considered to be a power house in international football with four World Cups, Die Mannschaft has however failed to win a single U-17 World Cup with the runners-up trophy in 1985, being their best achievement. As a reason, no matter as many times coach Christian Wuck says, “There is no pressure (on us) to win titles. Our team is in a process of development,” he is aware of the huge expectations his team full of future stars carry in the World Cup.
Germany restored some lost pride against Guinea after a debacle against Iran, thrashing the Africans 3-1 and will look to carry on momentum against Colombia. Captain Jan Fiete-Arp will once again be a main threat and his sweet coordination with Noah Awuku will have a big say in Germany’s chances.
The South Americans on the other hand is already familiar with the turf having played their group matches here. Change in formation from 4-3-1-2 to 3-4-1-2 changed their fortunes and showed how dangerous they can be against the the US whom they crushed to a 3-1 defeat. “We always look to play possession football and take the game to the competition. But we applied a different strategy against USA and it worked,” said Colombia’s coach.
But Germany will not be a easy side to play against. Juan Penaloza whose late flourish saw him score 3 goals in two matches will look to continue his form, while Leandro Campaz in the wings will aim to attract more defenders towards him with his clever play and free some space for the others to score goals.
Both sides’ midfield dominance however suggests that only the team that can control the midfield might walk away with match.
Paraguay vs United States of America
Both the sides started with a bang notching up big wins in their opening matches but, while USA succumbed to a big defeat against Colombia, Paraguay maintained their winning run and now come to the qualifiers with the best goal difference, having scored 10 goals while conceding only five. But on Monday they will face an opponent that is said to have one of the best defence organizations in the World Cup.
“Our attack has been quite impressive in this tournament and they have adapted well to every game. Defensively, we’ve had some issues and that is clear from the fact that we have conceded in all of our games. So, I think our strikers will be key against USA,” said coach Gustavo Moringo. Meaning the striking duo of Anibal Vega and Antonio Galeano be the main threat for La Albirroja.
USA on the other hand had a mixed bag of luck in the tournament. While they started well defeating India 3-0 following it up by defeating Ghana 1-0 they were completely outclassed by a rampant Colombia in their final game, pushing them behind to finish third in the group.
Coach John Hackworth has gone with five defenders in all the matches and is expected to do the same against Paragyay, while the combination of captain Josh Sargent, Tim Sean and Ayo Akinola will pose enough threat in attack.
How USA’s defence cope up with the formidable attack of paraguay will be the main talk of the match. While USA will look to exploit Paraguay’s weak defence in the second knock-out match on Monday.
Live from Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, Delhi
Germany vs Colombia – 5:00 p.m.
Paraguay vs United States of America – 8:00 p.m.