the FIFA U-17 World Cup UAE 2013
served up a fitting final treat for the
fans. All well as high-scoring matches,
fantastic goals and an outpouring of
emotion, there was a healthy dose of
excitement and drama, and the usual
stirring images of beaming winners
and inconsolable losers at the end.
A memorable day opened with the
match for third place between Sweden
and Argentina. And after 90 absorbing
minutes, it was the Scandinavians who
were left celebrating. The Swedes
crowned their maiden appearance at
the U-17 World Cup by building on a
string of increasingly convincing
performances in the UAE, deservedly
winning a fast-paced and high-scoring
match against their South American
opponents. The Europeans were again
indebted to striker Valmir Berisha as
the deadly marksman almost single-
handedly sealed his side's podium
finish. The player will go home with a
bronze medal and the top scorer's
award too.
The final was another premium-
quality affair in a worthy and
pulsating setting. Nigeria snuffed out
Mexican dreams of defending the
trophy and comfortably sealed a
fourth world triumph at this age level.
Roared on by their boisterous support
and inspired by play-maker Kelechi
Iheanacho, the Golden Eaglets imposed
their class for an ultimately merited
victory.
The results
Match for third place
Sweden 4-1 Argentina
Final
Nigeria 3-0 Mexico
Memorable moments
Taste of Chile whets appetite for 2015
Prior to kick-off, the good crowd at
Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium were
thoroughly entertained by a colourful
and varied closing ceremony. The
highlight involved a female acrobat
rising into the skies and floating over
the pitch suspended by hundreds of
balloons in the colours of the UAE flag.
Exactly 24 pearls represented the
participating nations, who benefited
throughout from the exceptional
warmth and hospitality of the Emirati
hosts. The grand finale centred on an
appearance by a group of Chilean kids.
The smiling representatives of the
South American country set to host the
next FIFA U-17 World Cup unfurled a
huge flag and the message "See you at
Chile 2015."
Berisha plays through the pain
Valmir Berisha was one of the
outstanding players at this edition of
the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The on-fire
Swedish striker turned in another
scintillating display against Argentina
and helped himself to a hat-trick,
taking him up to seven goals at the
tournament and securing the adidas
Golden Boot for the top scorer.
Remarkably, Berisha has been
struggling with a bruised foot
throughout and the problem visibly
caused him difficulties at times. But the
prolific talent simply gritted his teeth
and got on with it, although after his
third goal of the day even he signalled
to be substituted, in visible pain. It was
not long before a smile returned to the
face of the likeable Scandinavian, as he
accepted the prestigious individual
award to warm applause and generous
cries of "Yes! Yes!" from the large
Nigerian contingent in the crowd. In
the circumstances, his pain melted
away.
Better late than never for delighted
debutant
The tournament also ended on a high
for Berisha's team-mate Jakob
Bergman. The defender was Sweden's
only outfield player yet to make an
appearance in the Emirates, but in the
closing stages of the match for third
place he too entered the fray for his
World Cup debut. And when Bergman
took over from Gustav Engvall he
made no secret of his delight at finally
making it onto the pitch. His broad grin
spoke volumes, but despite the fact he
only played the last few minutes and
his team was already home and dry,
Bergman put his back into it, even
picking up a yellow card for his
troubles.
Mexican motivation artists
The Mexican coaching and support
staff came up with an inspired move to
motivate their players prior to the
final. They plastered the dressing room
walls with large posters proclaiming
messages such as "Viva Mexico" and "a
whole nation is behind you," plus a
banner displaying the World Cup
trophy and an emotional rallying cry:
"Realise your dreams, bring it home!."
But for all the creativity, it was not to
be on the day and the trophy is
heading for Africa.
Explosive emotions and joy
unconfined
The second goal that set Nigeria
decisively on the way to victory
prompted emotional fireworks at the
stadium. Scorer Kelechi Iheanacho and
his team-mates clustered at the corner
flag and spontaneously broke into a
dance of celebration, a routine quickly
taken up by the crowd, including
former Nigeria icon Nwankwo Kanu.
When the dancing former Super Eagles
striker was picked up on the stadium
video screens, the African support
broke out into thunderous cheers of
delight, although they would ratchet
up the decibel levels to new heights at
the final whistle.
The number
172 – The tournament in UAE goes
down as the highest scoring in the
history of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The 52 games yielded a total of 172
goals, comfortably surpassing the
previous record of 165 goals at the
2007 edition in Korea Republic.
The words
"We hope to keep the boys together
and make them a force to reckon with
in the future.
They are good and need more work to
make them better. It is the beginning of
the journey for us and it is good that it
is starting on Asian soil, where it began
in 1985 when the first set of Eaglets
won the cup in China," Nigeria coach
Manu Garba.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
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