Thursday 18 August 2011
Brazil and Portugal will contest the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2011 in Colombia following their respective last-four victories against Mexico and France. This Saturday's decider in Bogota will be a repeat of the 1991 edition, when the Portuguese won 4-2 on penalties almost exactly 20 years ago.
Both sides secured their places in the grand finale with 2-0 victories on an exciting evening in which France were ruthlessly reminded that failure to take your chances at this level is severely punished. Indeed, Les Bleuets were by no means second best at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellin on Wednesday, but Francis Smerecki's side were unable to find a way past the excellent Mika in the opposing goal. Meanwhile Portugal were merciless in their finishing, netting two of their few chances to see off their European rivals.
The Portuguese have certainly been the minimalists of this year's tournament. Since the expansion of the FIFA U-20 World Cup to 24 teams in 1997, no team has ever managed to reach the final having scored just five goals.
Brazilian striker Henrique has already netted the same number personally. The 20-year-old struck both in his side's 2-0 success against Mexico to move to the top of the goalscoring charts. The prolific goalgetter was just one month old when Brazil last played Portugal in the final of the tournament. Little did he know back then that 20 years later he would be competing in one himself. A Seleção have now gone 13 games without defeat and are set to compete in their eighth FIFA U-20 World Cup final.
Goal of the day
Brazil–Mexico, Henrique (84')
There was something typically Brazilian about the way Danilo, Dudu and Henrique combined for their side's second goal against Mexico. Coach Ney Franco pulled a tactical masterstroke by introducing Dudu and Allan on 69 minutes and pushing Danilo, a defender by trade, into midfield. The decision quickly paid off as Danilo threaded a precise ball in behind the defence for Dudu to square from the right, leaving Henrique with the simple task of slotting home his fifth of the tournament from close range.
Brazil–Mexico, Henrique (84')
There was something typically Brazilian about the way Danilo, Dudu and Henrique combined for their side's second goal against Mexico. Coach Ney Franco pulled a tactical masterstroke by introducing Dudu and Allan on 69 minutes and pushing Danilo, a defender by trade, into midfield. The decision quickly paid off as Danilo threaded a precise ball in behind the defence for Dudu to square from the right, leaving Henrique with the simple task of slotting home his fifth of the tournament from close range.
Memorable moments
Unexpected support: Brazil were met with the warmest of welcomes in Pereira, where cries of 'Ole, Bra-siiil' could be heard throughout the 90 minutes. The Colombians got behind their South American neighbours after watching their own side bow out of the tournament against Mexico in the quarters. Wearing their traditional yellow shirts, the local fans fitted in perfectly with the golden Brazilian crowd, who magnanimously gave the Mexicans players a standing ovation at the end.
Unexpected support: Brazil were met with the warmest of welcomes in Pereira, where cries of 'Ole, Bra-siiil' could be heard throughout the 90 minutes. The Colombians got behind their South American neighbours after watching their own side bow out of the tournament against Mexico in the quarters. Wearing their traditional yellow shirts, the local fans fitted in perfectly with the golden Brazilian crowd, who magnanimously gave the Mexicans players a standing ovation at the end.
Record finger: Portugal goalkeeper Mika had a new record in his sights going into the semi-final clash with France. He only needed 12 minutes to break the previous record of 492 minutes without conceding a goal, but just as the record came into view, referee Cuneyt Cakir awarded the French a free-kick in an ominous position. Clement Grenier curled a fine effort towards the top-left corner, but with his record in danger, Mika produced an unbelievable save to claw the ball away with his fingertips. Mika's heroics saw him overtake Chilean custodian Christopher Toselli's previous best mark from 2007, and the Leiria player will now be hoping to extend his new record of 570 minutes the final.
One-eyed saves: Mika's Brazilian counterpart Gabriel was involved in a heavy collision with Mexico's Erick Torres in the 16th minute of their semi-final in Pereira. The Seleção goalkeeper caught the striker's boot in the face and required minutes of treatment, eventually continuing the match with a nasty black eye. The eye continued to swell and was almost closed completely by the end, but that didn't stop the Brazilian shot-stopper from pulling off an excellent save to deny Marvin Pinon's 82nd-minute free-kick.
The stat
615 – Portugal have set a number of new records at the tournament and may soon break another. The Europeans are yet to concede in 615 minutes of football, the second-highest duration in the history of the competition after Brazil's 634 minutes between 1985 and 1987. The Portuguese need to keep it tight for just 19 more minutes to set a new best mark in Saturday's final – fittingly against the current record holders.
615 – Portugal have set a number of new records at the tournament and may soon break another. The Europeans are yet to concede in 615 minutes of football, the second-highest duration in the history of the competition after Brazil's 634 minutes between 1985 and 1987. The Portuguese need to keep it tight for just 19 more minutes to set a new best mark in Saturday's final – fittingly against the current record holders.
Next up
Saturday's final between Brazil and Portugal will take place at 20.00 local time at El Campin in Bogota. Prior to that, France take on Mexico at 17.00 in the match for third place.
Saturday's final between Brazil and Portugal will take place at 20.00 local time at El Campin in Bogota. Prior to that, France take on Mexico at 17.00 in the match for third place.
Henrique double sends Brazil into final
Henrique scored both goals in the last ten minutes to see off Mexico and book Brazil a FIFA U-20 World Cup final against Portugal. The game had been pulsating yet goalless until the No19 headed home Negueba’s cross, and the No19 finished the job by tapping home following a great ball from another substitute in Dudu.
Juan Carlos Chavez must now motivate his troops for Saturday’s match for third place against France, which will be the prelude to a repeat of the competition’s decider in 1991, when Portugal overcame Brazil on penalties.
The game started at a lively pace, with the Brazilians combining neatly but failed to create a meaningful chance. Mexico did that on 14 minutes, but Ulises Davila’s half-volley went over the bar.
Brazil tried their luck from distance a couple of times but to no avail, before Davila forced Gabriel into a fine save and Carlos Orrantia drove the rebound narrowly wide of the post.
On 36 minutes, Gabriel Silva played a one-two with Oscar and crossed for Willian, who failed to get decent connection on his header.
Juan Carlos Chavez must now motivate his troops for Saturday’s match for third place against France, which will be the prelude to a repeat of the competition’s decider in 1991, when Portugal overcame Brazil on penalties.
The game started at a lively pace, with the Brazilians combining neatly but failed to create a meaningful chance. Mexico did that on 14 minutes, but Ulises Davila’s half-volley went over the bar.
Brazil tried their luck from distance a couple of times but to no avail, before Davila forced Gabriel into a fine save and Carlos Orrantia drove the rebound narrowly wide of the post.
On 36 minutes, Gabriel Silva played a one-two with Oscar and crossed for Willian, who failed to get decent connection on his header.
There was a lot of nice interchange during the first 15 minutes of the second half, albeit without leading to any decent chances. Edson Rivera had one soon after but he swung for the ball and completely missed in when well placed inside the Brazil box.
Dudu rose from the bench in the 69th minute and immediately injected vigour into the South Americans’ play, almost laying on a chance for Oscar and then crossing for Henrique, who headed well wide.
But Henrique made no mistake with his header on 80 minutes after getting in front of his defender to power home Negueba’s excellent centre.
Four minutes later Danilo slid the ball cleverly behind the defence, Dudu collected it and rolled it across goal to present Henrique with the simplest of finishes.
Dudu rose from the bench in the 69th minute and immediately injected vigour into the South Americans’ play, almost laying on a chance for Oscar and then crossing for Henrique, who headed well wide.
But Henrique made no mistake with his header on 80 minutes after getting in front of his defender to power home Negueba’s excellent centre.
Four minutes later Danilo slid the ball cleverly behind the defence, Dudu collected it and rolled it across goal to present Henrique with the simplest of finishes.
Semi-finals
Brazil - Mexico
2:0 (0:0)
Match | Date | Time | Venue / Stadium | Attendance |
| 49 | 17 August 2011 | 20:00 | Pereira / Hernan Ramirez Villegas | 29812 |
Match Officials
Referee Mark CLATTENBURG (ENG) | Assistant Referee 1 Simon BECK (ENG) | |
Fourth Official KIM Dong Jin (KOR) | Assistant Referee 2 Stephen CHILD (ENG) | |
Match Commissioner Farouk BOUZO (SYR) | Fifth Official LEE Jungmin (KOR) |
- HENRIQUE (BRA) 80',
- HENRIQUE (BRA) 84'
Goals scored
Brazil
- GABRIEL (GK)
- DANILO
- BRUNO UVINI (C)
- JUAN JESUS
- FERNANDO
- CASEMIRO
- WILLIAN (-55')
- PHILIPPE COUTINHO (-69')
- OSCAR
- GABRIEL SILVA (-69')
- HENRIQUE
Line-up
- CESAR (GK)
- ALEKSANDER (GK)
- ALEX SANDRO [A]
- DUDU (+69')
- FRAUCHES
- ALLAN (+69')
- ROMARIO LEIRIA
- GALHARDO
- ALAN PATRICK
- NEGUEBA (+55')
Substitute(s)
Coach
Ney FRANCO (BRA)Mexico
- Jose RODRIGUEZ (GK)
- Hector ACOSTA (-85')
- Nestor ARAUJO
- Diego DE BUEN (-56')
- Carlos ORRANTIA
- Taufic GUARCH (-46' HT)
- Erick TORRES
- Ulises DAVILA
- Jorge ENRIQUEZ (C)
- Cesar IBANEZ
- Diego REYES
Line-up
- Carlos LOPEZ (GK)
- Julio GONZALEZ (GK)
- Kristian ALVAREZ
- Marvin PINON (+56')
- Saul VILLALOBOS
- Lugiani GALLARDO
- Jorge VALENCIA
- Alan PULIDO (+85')
- Edson RIVERA (+46' HT)
- David IZAZOLA
Substitute(s)
Coach
Juan Carlos CHAVEZ (MEX)- Erick TORRES (MEX) 5'
- , Edson RIVERA (MEX) 63'
- , Jorge ENRIQUEZ (MEX) 66'
- , GABRIEL SILVA (BRA) 69'
- , JUAN JESUS (BRA) 83'
- , Nestor ARAUJO (MEX) 83'
- , Cesar IBANEZ (MEX) 84'
Cautions
Expulsions
- First Half: 1'
- Second Half: 2'
Additional time
| Brazil (BRA) | Statistics | Mexico (MEX) |
| 20 | Shots | 19 |
| 6 | Shots on goal | 7 |
| 8 | Fouls Committed | 16 |
| 4 | Corner kicks | 3 |
| 1 | Direct Free Kicks to Goal | 1 |
| 0 | Indirect Free Kicks to Goal | 0 |
| 0 / 0 | Penalty Kicks | 0 / 0 |
| 0 | Offsides | 1 |
| 0 | Own Goals | 0 |
| 2 | Cautions | 5 |
| 0 | Expulsions due to Second Caution | 0 |
| 0 | Direct Expulsions | 0 |
| 57% | Possession (%) | 43% |
| 33 | Actual playing time | 24 |
| a.e.t.: | After extra time | (C): | Captain | PSO: | Penalty Shoot-out |
| GK: | Goalkeeper | N: | Not eligible to play | I: | Injured |
| Y: | Yellow cards | Pos: | Positions | A: | Absent |
2:0 (0:0)
- HENRIQUE (80' 84')
Match 49 - Group
Pereira
Hernan Ramirez Villegas
Hernan Ramirez Villegas
Referee: Mark CLATTENBURG (ENG)
Brazil-France: Quotes
Ney Franco, Brazil coach: "Physically we couldn’t have been better prepared and I’d like to thank my coaching staff for that. I’d also like to thank the city of Pereira, the fans, the media – we really feel at home here. The strategy we’ve been adopting since the start of this tournament worked well again today: a first half in which we set ourselves up for a physical battle to contain and wear down our opponents, then a second period with a more high-tempo, technical aspect to kill off the game. It’s a tactic we’ve been working on for a long time now. It’s why skilful and pacy players like Allan, Dudu and Negueba started on the bench. We knew the Mexicans were very strong in the tackle, and we had to be as well so as not to leave any space. The final will have a Portuguese flavour to it. We know Portugal are very strong defensively, with Mika yet to concede a goal here. On the other hand, we have some real quality forwards, which all makes for an appealing clash of styles. We’ve been studying our opponents carefully but I know this will be a tough match, just like the Mexico and Spain fixtures."
Juan Carlos Chavez, Mexico coach: "The dream is over. We really believed we could do it. The first half was even but we were pinned back a bit too often after the break. I’m sad but we’ve had a good World Cup. The Brazil team we faced were very good, and when we conceded the first goal our morale took a big hit. We pushed forward after that and then they scored the second. That’s football for you. Tonight we didn’t convert the few chances we had, and that’s unforgivable at this level. Just before they broke the deadlock, Edson Rivera had a great chance. Unfortunately it didn’t go in and moments later we found ourselves behind. We gave our all and made good use of space, but they kept possession well and imposed their game on us. They were formidable opponents. My players are disappointed and tears have been shed, but I told them this is not finished yet. There’s still third place to play for against France, which is significant."
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