Ajit John
ajit@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: It’s a time for rest and planning. For the teams preparing for the quarter-finals to be played on Saturday, it also is a time for planning and practice. It has been an interesting experience for all the teams that remain in the tournament, especially for those playing in Goa. On Saturday, Colombia will cross swords with Tanzania in one quarterfinal.
For Colombia it has undoubtedly been the best performance in a FIFA U-17 World Cup so far. Till this campaign they had played 12 matches in five appearances and had won one, lost seven and drew four. During this campaign they started off with a loss to former colonial masters Spain. It was a defeat by a goal and it was a disappointing start to their campaign. However, they managed to put steam into their campaign in their second match against China. A 2-0 win was very welcome. And they confirmed their place in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 against Mexico. It was a match in which the captain of the team Linda Caicedo’s shone brightly.
Caicedo scored her third goal in as many matches in the campaign, was quite clearly the livewire of the attack.
“The players and the staff have practised very hard, I am very proud of the work done in Colombia and this amazing phase is for all Colombians,” said Carlos Paniagua after the win over Mexico.
Mexico, enjoying the crowd’s support, pressed hard after pulling a goal back. She is the leading goal scorer in the World Cup.
Out of Africa comes something new. Tanzania has been one of the surprises in the tournament. In their very first appearance in the World Cup, they have qualified for the quarterfinals. It has been quite a ride. A red card put paid to their chances in their first game against Japan and they just fell away losing by four goals. They picked up another red card in their second game against France but showed skill and determination to win 2-1 and moved into the quarters with a 1-1 draw with Canada.
The second quarterfinal in Goa will feature heavyweights Japan against Spain. Japan has won this tournament once in 2014 and have been runners -up in 2010 and 2016. In all their seven World Cup appearances they have played 30 matches, won 22, lost two and drew six. They have had a spotless record in the ongoing World Cup. They started off by thrashing Tanzania 4-0. What has stood out in their campaign has been their pace, their discipline and the principle that the team always comes first before the individual. They then thumped Canada by the same margin. In the final game, they scored two goals to snuff out the French.
Defending champions Spain booked a spot in the quarterfinals with a very efficient performance. In their five appearances in the World Cup, they have played 14 matches, won seven, lost four and drew three. In this campaign they started with a 1-0 win against Colombia. However, they suffered a defeat against Mexico 1-2 but then regained their composure with a 1-0 win against China.
On Friday, the United States will play Nigeria on Friday, Oct 21, at the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai. Later that evening, Germany will play Brazil in the same stadium.
The US have impressed one and all. “Their mindset is that of a senior team. They never gave up, they tried to penetrate the line and were never afraid. I will say that the USA player has something that I have not seen in any other player around the world,” said Natalia Astrain, their coach.
“With regards to our next game against Nigeria, it will be a beautiful game because there will be two very different styles in the game,” she signed off.
