With a Round-of-16 spot at stake, clinical Mali opened their FIFA U-17 World Cup account with three points in the bag after a dominating 3-0 win over Turkey in the second round of Group 'B' clash at the DY Patil Stadium in Nerul yesterday
With a Round-of-16 spot at stake, clinical Mali opened their FIFA U-17 World Cup account with three points in the bag after a dominating 3-0 win over Turkey in the second round of Group 'B' clash at the DY Patil Stadium in Nerul yesterday. After a narrow 3-2 defeat against Paraguay in their opening match where The Eagles were termed an "overenthusiastic bunch" by coach Jonas Komla, Mali looked a much composed and dangerous outfit on the day. Adopting a 4-2-4 formation, last edition's runners-up toyed with the Turkish defence with consummate ease. The Crescent Stars were at the receiving end of Mali's precision passes, well-timed tackles and thunderous waves of attacks. "Losing the first game changed the boys. We are treating all matches as if it is the finals. We made many tactical changes," Mali head coach Jonas Komla said.
Mali's Djemoussa Travore (right) and Turkey's Ozan Kabak vie for the ball in the FIFA U-17 World Cup clash at Nerul. Pic/Suresh Karkera
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Mali registered 29 attempts of which 11 were on target as compared to Turkey's eight attempts of which four were on target. Mali incurred their first major blow with defensive mainstay Abdoulaye Diaby picking up his second yellow in the fifth minute. The towering teen will miss the last group game against New Zealand on October 12. That was the only hiccup the Malians had to face. Komla's boys could have scored twice in the opening quarter had it not been for Lassana Ndiaye's misses. It took a 38th-minute strike by Djemoussa Traore for Mali to open their account. His shot was possible due to a fine assist by Hadji Drame, who spotted his teammate's run just outside the box and delivered his pass dissecting two Turkey defenders, with Traore left to beat only 'keeper Berke Ozer.
The physical difference between both sides was widely exposed with Turkey picking up many injuries. Their big blow was the early departure of FC Schalke striker Ahmed Kutucu, the goal-scorer in their previous encounter against New Zealand.
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