The teams of Brazil, Portugal, Austria and Italy on Friday sealed their passage to the semifinals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, in what will be the last step before the final; Brazil-Portugal and Austria-Italy will fight for their place.
Brazil won an agonizing victory in the last minute against Morocco, 2-1, with the goal of Dell, known as the ‘Haaland of the desert’, the undisputed protagonist of the match with a brace. The ‘Canarinha’ suffered but managed to win the first match of the qualifiers without having to go to a penalty shootout.
Portugal meets Brazil in semifinals
Portugal took control of the match from the start and had the clearest chances to score.
The prize came in the 40th minute from Mateus Mide, who fished for a loose ball in the Swiss area after a sloppy chest control by teammate Anisio Cabral.
The Lusitanians continued to dominate in the second half and got the goal of tranquility with a left-footed shot from the edge of the area by José Neto.
Austria tried to close the gap on the scoreboard, but lacked precision and came up against very good interventions by Portuguese goalkeeper Romario Cunha.
Thus, Brazil and Portugal will play the Lusophone duel of the U-17 World Cup, in which the Brazilian central defender Luis Eduardo will be absent due to yellow cards.
Austria resists, surprises and advances
On the other side of the table, Austria beat Japan 1-0 after Johannes Moser’s solitary goal in the opening minutes of the second half.
The Japanese team missed several dangerous chances against goalkeeper Daniel Posch, who put in a great performance.
In a great exercise in resilience and despite missing a penalty in the 95th minute, the Austrian team surprised and sneaked into the semifinals of the U-17 World Cup.
Their opponent will be Italy, ensuring at least one European representative in the final.
Italy shows strength
The ‘Azurra’ improved in the second half and beat Burkina Faso, who had a double chance to take the lead in the first half.
After an offside goal in the second half, Italy reacted and made it 1-0 through Thomas Campaniello in the 84th minute, after a serious defensive error by the Burkinabe team.
Austria will be counting on the form of their striker Moser, top scorer at the U-17 World Cup with Portugal’s Anisio Cabral, both with six goals, to advance to the final.
For their part, Italy will again rely on their defensive strength and solidity, having conceded only three goals during the tournament.
With information from EFE
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