That’s about that then - join us on Saturday for the final!
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So England will play Mali or Spain on Saturday, and will fancy themselves to complete the job; they are a team in perfect working order, a strong collective which allows individuals to flourish. In particular, Phil Foden is a mature and exciting talent, Rhian Brewster is steaming hot and Callum Hudson-Odoi a constant threat; it’ll take a serious effort to beat them. In the meantime, though, they’ll enjoy what they’ve just achieved: a confident, conclusive and invigorating win ... in a World Cup ... semi-final ... against Brazil. Decent.
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FULL-TIME: ENGLAND 3-1 BRAZIL! ENGLAND HAVE BEATEN BRAZIL! ENGLAND ARE IN THE U-17 WORLD CUP FINAL!
What a performance that was!
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90+5 min Lincoln fouls McEachran and is booked. He’ll come again - he’s a lithe, inventive menace.
90+4 min Brewster holds it up and takes a stud to the Achilles for his trouble. The perpetrator is booked, but no one bothers telling us who it is.
90+3 min The excellent Hudson-Odoi cuts in off the left and looks to hit the far corner, but Brazao saves easily enough.
90+5 min This Brazil side are good; what they need to learn from this is that a two-goal lead does not a conclusive victory make. Even if they score now, with three minutes to go, they’ve got a chance, but they’re playing like it’s done.
90 min There shall be five added minutes.
90 min Weverson swings in a cross from the left but there’s no one in the middle even slightly close to it - apart from Anderson, who palms it into his path and then clears.
89 min England have been so composed in how they’ve seen this out, though that third goal killed Brazil, whose intensity dropped thereafter.
87 min Foden seems to have everything: pace, skill, attitude, intelligence. Will he have to leave Manchester City to use it?
87 min The best player on the pitch departs: off goes Foden, on comes Kirby.
86 min Change for Brazil: off goes Alan to a consoling grab of the neck and on comes Nestor.
85 min Antonio into Alberto, and 64 defenders immediately surround him. McEachran it is who wins the ball, and after a dodgy first half, he’s done well since.
83 min Brazil haven’t given up, but they know. And what a performance this has been - this is - by England. The strong-stood when Brazil equalised, have been much the better side in the second half, and the score reflects the balance of play.
82 min Apologies, my system crashed, but in the meantime, England are right at Brazil with Foden, now at number 10, to the fore. Again he burrows at Weverson and pals, has the confidence to move onto his weaker right foot, and lash a drive over the bar close to the near post.
GOAL! HAT-TRICK GOAL! SECOND CONSECUTIVE HAT-TRICK GOAL! England 3-1 Brazil (Brewster)
Oh this is lovely! A beautiful Cruyff turn from Foden allows him to drive at the Brazil defence but before anyone can block him off he sends the ball right to Smith-Rowe. His cross is perfect, into the path of Brewster, and though it kicks up, he keeps his eye on it to smack home what is surely the clincher.
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76 min England are sitting quite deep now, everyone back inside their half when Brazil start moving the ball. But Helio Junio overhits a cross, and Anderson will take as long as he can over his place-kick.
73 min Alan sends a pass into the box, Lincoln in pursuit. But he can’t quite catch up with it, and the teams have a water break.
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72 min Brazil make another change, removing Bobsin and introducing Helio Junio. He joins an illustrious group of rhyming players, such as Angel Rangel and Gokdeniz Karadeniz.
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71 min A quiet period, which will please England.
70 min Another change for England: Eyoma replaces a tired-looking Sessegnon.
69 min Marcos Antonio exchanges passses with Alan and switches play beautifully, finding Weverson down the left. His cross is blocked clear easily enough.
68 min Change for England: Smith-Rowe of Arsenal replaces Gibbs-White of Wolves.
67 min Brazil are back in control here, and Weverson moseys down the left then crosses ... and Lincoln is there! But his dive can only divert the ball wide.
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66 min “Isn’t this match enthralling?” emails Frank Chibundu Agu. “Better football than ALL the Carabao Cup matches yesternight! Who said that youth isn’t better?”
I didn’t see them all - I was wathching Man United at Swansea - and it’s a lot, lot better than that.
64 min This is getting lively again, Paulinho diddling Latibeaudiere who’s too square, cutting inside, and opening his body for a shot. But he can’t get it far enough into the corner and far enough away from Anderson.
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63 min Foden does beautifully to nip inside then outside Weverson, shooting low ... and Brazao beats clear. And Brazil then break, Lincoln playing Alberto in, but Anderson does well to block.
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61 min Alberto is on for Brazil, but no one bothered to say who for ... ah yes, now they have: Brenner.
60 min But here they come, Paulinho into Brenner, who catapults into a shot; Anderson beats away.
58 min England are still the better side, Foden drifting inside before sliding a reverse-pass for Gibbs-White. Brazil avert the danger, but they don’t look like scoring an equaliser at the moment.
57 min McEchran slides past Brenner, who fouls him and is booked, once the ref has pointed to the locations of his previous offence.
55 min Lovely from Oakley-Boothe, getting in amongst it to rob Lincoln and zip forward. England are playing with so much confidence; it’s going to be hilarious seeing all the different ways that it’s knocked out of them.
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53 min Brazil are struggling to get anything going at the moment and Halter gives the ball away to Hudson-Odoi, who mooches down the right, waits, and then picks out Brewster at the back post. But at the far post, he mistimes his jump and bumps a header wide.
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52 min Foden into Gibbs-White, who feathers a turn around the corner and eases goalwards, spreading for Hudson-Odoi who’s moved onto the right. Eventually, he’s crowded out, but England are still looking dangerous.
50 min Brenner glides across midfield and then Paulinho finds Marcos Antonio who, from 20 yards, has a dig. And Anderson misjudges its path and his jump, in the end relived to flat it behind. The corner is seen away easily enough.
48 min Turnover for England, Foden spreading to Brewster at inside-right. He looks to curve a cross into Gibbs-White’s path, but Weverson concedes the corner - which comes to nothing.
47 min Latibeaudiere gets too tight to Lincoln, who turns him and accepts a rap on the ankle. Latibeaudiere takes issue with the referee because why wouldn’t he.
46 min Brazil got stronger in their last game against Germany; can England hang tough when the rhythm gets rough and the DJ says “I think you’ve ad enough”?
46 min Off we go!
Back come the players.
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Six #FIFAU17WC goals for @RhianBrewster9... and counting? 🙏 pic.twitter.com/CrwAPW3zPt
— England (@England) October 25, 2017
Half-time: England 2-1 Brazil
That was an excellent half. Both teams play with rhythm, pace and invention, and both are going for it. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the scoring.
45+3 min Gibbs-White gets away down the left and is poised to cross, but the phenomenally raid Wesley gets back at him.
45+1 min “Perhaps the u-teams have the same freedom/chaos afforded them as College football teams in the US,” emails Ian Copestake. “Many punters there prefer watching the kids play because the adult version is too predictable and unimaginative.”
I’m sure that’s right in part, peculiar though it is for kids to be so feted for anything. I remember reading once that pretty much every innovation comes from the college game.
45 min There shall be three added minutes.
45 min Nice from Brenner, who runs over a ball out to the left and allows Weverson to cross. But Lincoln can’t get around his shot and England survive; the ball flashes wide.
44 min “Reading Michael Calvin’s book,” emails Joseph Owen, “Aidy Boothroyd’s archaisms and garbled modern-speak are perfect fit for the FA.”
By their standards, he sounds like one of the good guys.
43 min This is nice: Callum Hudson-Odoi skills compilation:
Aidy look away now.
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41 min Prior to today, only two players had scored against Brazil in 540 minutes; Rhian Brewster has taken 38 minutes to do so twice.
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GOAL! England 2-1 Brazil (Brewster, 38)
Two for Brewster today, six for Brewster in the tournament! And how well does he take this one! Foden does well down the right then slides Sessegnon to the by-line; he cuts back, and though Brazao’s desperate touch makes it tricky, his first touch, a Cruff turn of sorts, sets him for his second, a finish rammed into the net.
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38 min Did Aidy Boothroyd want England to lose to Japan, to teach them a lesson? So they’d learn what it means to be English?
36 min Oakley-Boothe lamps forward and Vitao misses his header; in the meantime, Brewster has gambled and bursts onto the ball. But with no one alongside him he has to hold it up, can’t, and Brazil clear.
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34 min What’s so unusual about this is an England team are taking on a Brazil team at what they do best: enterprising attacking, disorganised defending and dodgy keeping.
33 min This is one of the most entertaining halves I’ve seen this season, and approximately 652,507 times more entertaining than both I watched at the Liberty last night.
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32 min Oakley-Boothe is booked for a foul - upon whom I did not see.
31 min Should be 1-2! One ball from Bobsin is enough to send Brenner in! At inside-left, he opens his body calmly, he knows he’s scoring, he slides his finish, he knows he’s scored, AND THE SHOT GOES WIDE!
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30 min Should be 2-1! Hudson-Odoi picks out Latibeaudiere, just wide of the penalty spot, but he can’t get a full brow on the ball, which slips off his head and wide.
29 min Nice from Hudson-Odoi, who gets after Wesley again and skins him on the outside. But Wesley has the pace to get back, and blocks behind for a corner.
28 min England need to find a way of controlling Wesley. He’s now pushing Hudson-Odoi back, or exploiting the fact that he’s not always running back. And in midfield, Oakley-Bothe and McEachran are struggling with Marcos Antonio and Bobsin.
27 min Paulinho is back on.
26 min Paulinho fouls McEachran, who catches him on the way down. Treatment is applied, but he looks unhappy about it all.
24 min This us a really fun gam. Foden runs at Weverson, pauses, then moves off again down his outside; it wins him a corner, which comes to nothing.
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24 min Steward Robson (born Billericay) has just described Brazil’s “rampant right-back”. I’ll leave that image there.
GOAL! England 1-1 Brazil (Wesley, 22)
“You had a funny feeling that was coming,” says the commentator, which is one way of putting it: alternatively, you knew it was coming England were on the rack. Especially down their left, the Brazil right, and it’s from there that the goal comes, Wesley playing a double one-two with Paulinho before Paulinho shoots low. Anderson beats it away at his near post, but back into play, and Latibeaudiere has the chance to clear, but he’s slow. Wesley, on the other hand, is feral, and lashes home across goal before enjoying a dance with Lincoln. England need to think about this now.
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21 min Attack against defence now, and Wesley exchanges passes with Paulinho via nip and flick - it’s lovely. But England stand firm.
19 min Brazil are right on top now, and Bobsin finds Wesley with a fine crossfield pass; he slips infield for Paulinho, who opens the angle by cutting in, then drags a shot wide of the near post.
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18 min Brenner goes down the left and crosses low, but Guehi, who’s started well, is there before Lincoln to turn clear.
17 min There are a lot of braces in this Brazil team. Anyone who wore braces still have dreams about wearing braces, their mouth open and aching and such? Ah, just me then. I once accidentally answered the front door in my head brace, to discover an older lad from school; it is fair to say that I soon regretted my carelessness.
15 min What a miss! The corner goes to the near corner of the box, defenders step out as the ball comes in, and first Brenner misses the ball, then Vitao misses his finish ... from three yards out. Oh dear me.
15 min Alan sides a pass down the side of Latibeaudiere for Brenner, but the defender responds well to knock the ball behind.
13 min Sessegnon pulls back Paulinho and is booked; free-kick Brazil, left-hand side, 35 yards out, close to the touchline ... and Alan gets far too much on it, Hudson-Odoi eventually clearing.
12 min England just have so much firepower and creativity, absolute disgrace to their country.
GOAL! England 1-0 Brazil (Brewster, 10)
The name that spawned a thousand headlines. Hudson-Odoi, inside on his right foot, curls a lovely ball over the top of the Brazil defence and into the middle, where it’s met on the volley by a striding Brewster. His first effort is straight at Brazao, but he jabs home the rebound with ease.
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10 min Foden clips a nice ball out to Hudson-Odoi on the left, but this time Wesley sticks with him and does enough. This looks lie being a decent battle.
9 min Lovely pass around the corner from Brewster and Foden scoots to the line before cutting back an attempted return. But it’s behind his man and Brazil clear.
8 min Marcos Antonio finds space for the shot outside the box and looks to bend into the far corner, but winds up shooting too close to Anderson.
7 min A quick throw has Lincoln zooming down the right, but Guehi has the legs to get there first.
6 min Hudson-Odoi hustles Wesley out of the possession and squares for Gibs-White, who moves onto Foden. But he can’t control his shot, which swerves and wafts high and wide.
4 min England pass around the press nicely and Panzo sends a pass down the left for Hudson-Odoi. But Wesley is plenty quick to deal, and receives a punitive shove in the back as such.
3 min Lincoln looks dangerous and lifts a ball into the middle, but Sessegnon gets it away.
3 min Brazil have started confidently, knocking the ball around well and pinning England back inside their own half.
1 min I know that England have played with freedom, flair and joy, but worry not: that will soon stop. Aiy Boothroyd, whose qualifications to be manager of England u-21s are numerous and profound, has told them to stop showboating. That’s Aidy Boothroyd who also said “Until they’ve been bashed about a bit by life and football, they don’t really get it. He, we can be sure, gets “it” - just look as all his success.
1 min Off we go.
One thing we should note: Jadon Sancho has left india, and has since made his debut for Borussia Dortmund.
There’s nothing better than... microphones good enough to hear tuneless singing from footballers.
Anthem time.
Out they come!
I’ve not seen loads of this tournament so far, but if England can afford to leave out Angel Gomes, of whom I’ve seen a bit, they’re doing well. Phil Foden, in particular, looks a player, but there’s just so much talent and joy in how they express themselves.
If England can win today, they will make their fourth age-group final of the year. That’s good going by any standard, and imagine how well they’d have done if Gareth Southgate were managing at youth level.
Pre-match mirth and hilarity: this evening’s fun was meant to happen in Guwahati, not Kolkata, but the pitch - the helicopter-dried pitch, as tufty as Wayne Rooney’s back - was deemed too dangerous. Brazil had lobbied for the move, while England were curiously silent. Both sides had to schlep 1,000km, having already travelled.
Brewsters and Wesleys
England (4-2-3-1): Anderson; Sessegnom, Latibeaudiere, Guehi, Panzo; Mceachran, Oakley-Boothe; Foden, Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White; Brewster.
Brasil (4-2-4 we trust): Brazao; Wesley, Weverson, Lucas Halter, Vitao; Bobsin, Marcos Antonio; Paulinho, Brenner, Lincoln, Alan.
Preamble
Afternoon all and welcome to not much at all, just England excelling yet again in yet another age-group tournament, happens all the time. What a strange sentence that is!
Happily, all this will soon segue into another summer of senior failure after which we can feel like we know the world and ourselves once more, but in the meantime, this should be an absolute treat.
Kick-off: 12.30pm BST
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