When the U-17 teams of England and Spain walk on to the pitch to battle it out for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, both teams will be out to make history. The winner will not only be remembered as the first champion of a FIFA international competition in India, but will also be the first side from their country to lift the youth trophy.
Spain has lost three finals before, coming agonisingly close to winning the competition, but could not do it. England has never been within sniffing distance of the trophy, its best achievement being quarterfinal finishes. History will be written, irrespective of the winner.
The all-European final will be a repeat of the U-17 European championship final which was in May earlier this year. The match had ended in a 2-2 draw before the Spaniards edged out their opponents in the penalty shootout lottery. England will be out for revenge and Spain will want to repeat their success without having to take it down to the wire again. It is only fitting that the two teams emerge from countries that are home to the two most-watched club football leagues in India.
The three-week-long journey for both teams have produced intriguing results. England dismantled all three of its opponents in the group stage with relative ease, before being left frustrated by the Japanese in the round of 16. The match produced the only penalty shootout of the edition so far and England won, successfully getting the penalty shootout monkey off its back. The Britishers then crushed the USA in the quarterfinal and effortlessly strolled past Brazil in the semifinal.
Spain lost its first game of the tournament to Brazil, but made amends by winning every game that followed. The team struggled a bit in the round of 16 against France, only to secure the winner in the dying moments of the game and clinch the contest 2-1. Even the semifinal against Mali was a difficult one for the team, though the 3-1 scoreline did not reflect that.
The final face-off is a battle between two sides that have similar, yet engrossing, styles of play. Though the core philosophy of the Spain team remains their very own tiki-taka passing game, the team has relied less on circulating the ball around (before that incisive forward pass) and have, like England, relied heavily on playing through its zippy wingers.
England team celebrating after winning the semifinal against Brazil | Salil Bera
It is a similar situation for both teams. Ferran Torres and Sergio Gomez on either side of the final third will rely on the ball distribution skills of the creative midfielders behind them to either feed the burly striker Abel Ruiz or to cut in an have-a-go themselves.
England have also looked to play wide. Phil Foden, one of the finds of this tournament, and Callum Hudson-Odoi have provided splendid service to sharp shooter Rhian Brewster on the latter’s way to leading the scorers charts. Ruiz and Brewster have six and seven goals, respectively.
Both teams will heavily rely on their gifted centre backs to hold off the two poachers. England’s Joel Latibeaudiere will be the player to look out for.
World football’s first Indian carnival has reached its climax. The story so far has been one of boundless excitement and the only bit left to end the journey on a high is this ultimate battle. The stage is set.
Probable lineups:
Spain
GK: Alvaro Fernandez
Defenders: Juan Miranda, Hugo Guillamon, Victor Chust, Mateu Morey
Midfielders: Mohamed Moukhliss, Antonio Blanco, Cesar Gelabert
Attackers: Ferran Torres, Sergio Gomez, Abel Ruiz (c)
England
GK: Curtis Anderson
Defenders: Jonathan Panzo, Marc Guehi, Joel Latibeaudiere (c), Steven Sessegnon
Midfielders: George McEachran, Tashan Oakley Boothe, Morgan Gibbs White
Attackers: Phil Foden, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Rhian Brewster
