Brazil beat Mali 2-0 in the third-place match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, after Mali conceded arguably the easiest goal of the tournament. Though Mali dominated most of the game with their fast and furious attacking, it was yet another disappointing night for the Africans, who have recorded the most shots on goal in the tournament.
Brazil had lost to England in the semifinal and was second best for most parts of the game, just like their previous match. Mali, who were beaten by Spain, were once again the unlucky side and just could not find the net. So bad was the Brazil defence that Mali got 27 shots away, while Brazil could manage only eight.
Brazil looked lethargic and lacked focus just like the England semifinal while Mali showed more intent. But, to the relief of the Brazil defenders, the Malians were blindly shooting throughout the game, from whichever position they could.
The first half proved to be a drab one with barely few moments worth noting. The game’s first proper shot on target came in the 39th minute. After exchanging passes with a teammate, Salam Jiddou received a ball inside the box, shifted to his right beyond a defender and smacked the ball hard, forcing goalkeeper Gabriel to push the ball over the bar.
After the half, in the 55th minute, Brazil midfielder Alan raced clear of the defenders but hit the weakest of shots under pressure. Mali goalkeeper Youssouf Koita, who had an otherwise impressive campaign, failed to collect the ball and it rolled past him into the net.
The goal brought some much-needed energy back into the game. The next few minutes had some end-to-end football with both keepers making crucial saves to deny counter attacks.
Brazil scored again in the 88th minute, when substitute Yuri Alberto was supplied a low cross from the right, following a counter attack. The striker, who was unmarked, smashed it past the hapless keeper to get his first goal of the tournament and sealed the game for the South Americans.
At the post-match press conference, Brazil coach Carlos Amadeu said: "We had the worst match of the tournament [despite the win]. We prepared for two years and this was our worst show. We were very lucky and Mali was the better team. There were three accidents and one of them resulted in a goal for them. But this is football and such things happen."
"We wanted to show the Brazil style of football but we failed today. We need to be more organised as more countries around the world are playing football and they are getting better too."
