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Home > Sports News > Football News > Article > FIFA U 17 World Cup Spain have a simple plan against Mali today

FIFA U-17 World Cup: Spain have a simple plan against Mali today

Updated on: 25 October,2017 02:36 PM IST  |  Mumbai
Noel D'Souza |

Coach Denia insists Spain will stick to their own style and strengths as they get down to tackle a physically stronger Mali in their semi-final clash today

FIFA U-17 World Cup: Spain have a simple plan against Mali today

The performance curve of African giants Mali and European champions Spain, both teams who will be locking horns in the FIFA U-17 World Cup second semi-final today at the DY Patil Stadium in Nerul, follows the same path. The Eagles lost their first Group 'B' match to Paraguay (2-3) before bouncing back with convincing victories against Turkey (3-0) and New Zealand (3-1). La Rojita fell prey to hot favourites Brazil (1-2) in their opening Group 'D' encounter and then recovered well with wins over Niger (4-0) and Korea DPR (2-0). What makes this clash all the more interesting is that both sides still haven't bagged the coveted crown. Mali, runners-up from the 2015 event, qualified for three straight editions between 1997 and 2001, while Spain have failed get hold of the World Cup trophy thrice in the past — ending as runners-up in 1991, 2003 and 2007. In 2009, they finished third.


Spanish players go through their drills yesterday ahead of their semi-final clash against Mali at Navi Mumbai today. Pic/Suresh Karkera
Spanish players go through their drills yesterday ahead of their semi-final clash against Mali at Navi Mumbai today. Pic/Suresh Karkera


'No pressure on Spain'
"There's no pressure on us. Of course, we want to win the trophy for the first time, but we know the challenges ahead," Spain coach Santi Denia said on match eve yesterday. Spain's opening loss to Brazil was a good wake up call for the tiki-taka boys, who sealed their passage to the semis with a 3-1 win over Iran in the quarters. Facing a much burlier Malian side, Spain have a tough job to tackle the pace and strength of with Mali striker Lassana N'Diaye already banging in five goals so far and a hot contender for the Golden Boot.


"We know we are playing against a very physical team. We know that we cannot play a counter-attacking game against them, but we need to play our same game. Although they are physically stronger and bigger than us, I don't think that's a disadvantage. We cannot counter attack that," Denia added. Mali, who will leave the tunnel, with a slight edge over their opponents having played their first two group games at Nerul, have their fair share of problems.

'Mali won't miss Camara'
Skipper Mohamed Camara has been suspended after receiving his second yellow in the quarters. "We are playing with a team of 21, so we have enough members and we can replace him with the same talent as the captain. It won't be a problem," Mali coach Jonas Komla said. While Spain's loss to Brazil did help them regroup, Komla's mantra is simple. "Our philosophy is to play the game and win matches. Even our loss to Paraguay doesn't change anything. We are on track with our objective."

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