Brazil seek consolation win over Mali in bronze medal play-off
27 Oct 2017 5:07 PM GMT
Kolkata: Their bid for a fourth title halted by England in the semi-finals, Brazil will seek a consolation win when they take on Mali in the third-place play-off of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in what could turn out to be a high-scoring match here on Saturday.
With little at stake after losing in the semi-finals, both sides will go all out in their bid to sign off on a winning note and this bronze medal match could turn out to be a goal fest.
It is expected to be free-flowing contest between Brazil's natural flair and the raw power and speed of an African side. Brazil, the pre-tournament and crowd favourites, were distraught after their 1-3 loss to England in the semi-finals on Wednesday. They would want to salvage some pride and give the Kolkata crowd one last chance to cheer them. Disappointed that they could not give back the love shown by the crowd with a title, Brazil players like Alan Souza, Lincoln and Paulinho have said that they would give their best in the bronze play-off match as a mark of respect for the faithful spectators.
Brazil surprisingly showed poor finishing in most of the matches. They scored three goals only once in a match — against Honduras while the maximum goals in all their remaining games was two, even against the likes of North Korea and Niger. The Carlos Amadeu-coached side, however, showed in the quarter-final match against Germany that they can live up to the billing of being the pre-tournament favourites with a spectacular comeback but they could not repeat it in the semi-finals as they were sent packing.
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