Germany claimed their first-ever U17 World Cup title after a thrilling final against France.
Germany defeated France in the U17 World Cup final on Saturday. Die Mannschaft edged out their opponents in the penalty shootouts after a 2-2 draw.
What happened?
Germany’s solid start to the game resulted in their first goal of the night just before the half-hour mark. Paris Brunner, who scored twice against Argentina in the semi-finals, converted a penalty for the Germans to put them 1-0 ahead.
France pushed hard to get back into the game after the break, but it was Germany who doubled their lead through Noah Darvich in the 51st minute.
It seemed as if the Germans had secured their victory, but only two minutes later, France got back into the game through Saimon Bouabre’s goal.
Winners Mark Osawe’s red card in the 69th minute only made things worse for Germany as they came under more pressure in the final stages of the game.
Les Bleus finally scored the equalizer in the 85th minute, with Mathis Amougou converting Tidiam Gomis’ precise low cross in the far post.
Similar to the World Cup in Qatar, France found themselves in another penalty shootout after the final whistle. Gomis missed France’s fifth penalty, providing a chance for Germany to win the title by converting their next spot-kick. Almugera Kabar then smashed a powerful shot behind Paul Argney to win the shootouts 4-3 for Germany U17.
Player Ratings
Germany: Heide (8), Moreira (5), Jeltsch (6), Odogu (7), Hennig (5), Osawe (5), Harchaoui (6), Yalcinkaya (6), Darvich (7), Brunner (6), Moerstedt (7).
Bench: Ramsak (7), Kabar (6), Herweth (6).
France: Argney (8), Titi (7), Sanda (7), Meupiyou (6), Sadi (5), Amougou (7), Gomis (6), Bouneb (7), Sylla (7), Bouabre (7), Lambourde (6).
Bench: Sangui (6), Diallo (-), Tinres (6)